


Chronosphere

by Astoria00



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, F/F, Falling In Love, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Rival Relationship, Time Shenanigans, Trust
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-12-04
Packaged: 2018-10-25 20:44:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 59,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10772085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Astoria00/pseuds/Astoria00
Summary: 2018: Chariot failed getting the seventh word. So why was Akko suddenly talking about Chariot being in danger?What about Diana who seems to have some sleeping trouble?Meanwhile in 2006, Chariot is trying to revive the seven words of Arcturus, but strange dreams are keeping her awake at night, making her question herself for the first time, all while Croix is planning her next move.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well never had one of those before, I'm really nervous about posting this story, it's the first time  
> I'm writing in another language, yeah English is not my first language, so tell me what you think.  
> Enjoy^^

###### June 2006

“Don't cry, Chariot. We will always be together, I promise!”  
...  
“Chariot stop!”  
...  
“Don't do this!”  
...  
“CHARIOT!”

Startled Chariot opened her eyes. Her heart was racing, as if she had just performed a taxing spell.  
She stared blinkingly at the dark ceiling, trying to calm down.  
This again. Someone crying out to her in her dream.  
Distorted voices scrambled together screaming her name in what she guessed, total desperation.  
Her eyes slowly got used to the darkness in the room. She was surprised that her roommates were still sleeping so soundly after they told her time and time again how she would disturb them in the night, because she would sleep talk or snore or... well who knew?  
Letting out a sigh Chariot pulled the blanket over her head and groaned. Now she would never get back to sleep. Grumpy she rolled to the side, trying to leave her bed, but her arms got caught in the blanket that was still over her head and with a dull thump she dropped to the ground.

“Goddammit Chariot, I'm trying to sleep!”

Suddenly the little lamp on the desk was lit, illuminating the room in dim light.  
Therese Chairfield looked at the redhead, who was still fighting with her blanket, with barely concealed annoyance. Chariot stopped her struggling and smiled sheepishly.

“Sorry Therese, I didn't mean to wake you up.”  
She really didn't, her roommate was just such a light sleeper.

“How considerate of you”, said Therese, a slight edge to her tone.  
“Do tell, what is it you were actually trying to do?”

Chariot shrugged, bringing up her dream would only make her situation worse, so she forced a smile.  
She loved entertaining people, so she had to smile, she had to make them happy, but...

‘It's so hard, why do they have to treat me like that?’

“I just wanted to get up, you know, taking a walk, something like that”, she said lightly, her voice not betraying the inner turmoil she felt.

The redhead's roommate blinked slowly, her gaze wandering back and forth between Chariot and Chariot's bed.  
“So...you're telling me that you were too dumb to properly get out of your own bed?”  
Therese didn't bother to wait for a response, her mouth warped into a cruel smile and she began to snicker.  
“How embarrassing, what are you, five? How did someone like you even get into Luna Nova in the first place? What a disgrace! You want to be a great witch someday? What a- why are you smiling?”

Somewhere in Therese's rant Chariot's face had brightened up. Following her gaze, the roommate's expression soured again. There on the redhead's nightstand laid the Claiomh Solais, a faint yellow glow coming from one of the gems. It was enough to tune Therese's voice out completely, the tiredness was entirely gone and she was filled with giddy excitement. 

'I need to tell Croix'

“Great,” muttered Therese, “just take your little magic stick and go. Unlike you I value my good night's sleep.”

With a swish of her wand Chariot was freed and practically skipped to her nightstand. Gripping the Claiomh Solais tightly she turned back to Therese trying to express her gratitude for being able to walk freely again.

“Did I stutter? I said go!”

Not even able to get her cloak, Chariot found herself pushed out the door, which was slammed shut shortly after.

‘Why do I even bother?’

Through the closed door she could hear some muffled voices. She could only guess, but it sounded like their second roommate had just woken up.

“What happened?”

“Just Chariot being an idiot, as always.”

“Do you have to be that mean to her? It's not her fault that she's clumsy as hell.”

“Oh please, you just want me to make nice with her because she seems to be friends with Croix-Senpai.  
Don't really know why she wastes her time with 'that one', but I guess everyone needs a ‘charity’ project here and there. When she is bored with her, she will hopefully move on and you can try to win her heart.”

“But if you are mean to her now, Croix-Senpai will hate me Therese.”

“God, just go back to sleep Helena!”

The light in the room vanished and left Chariot alone in the dark dormitory hall, except for the glowing rod, she carried. What she just heard wasn't new for her. She really didn't have any friends besides Croix, but it never bothered her. Croix was amazing. A prodigy, the hope of the school, earning title after title. Even the Idea of Chariot, the troublemaker, and her being friends was preposterous, but here they were.

###### October 2005

“Do you want to see my show?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“My magic show, do you want to see it?”

Chariot grinned brightly at the older witch with lavender hair and glasses.  
Finally being in Luna Nova was a dream come true. She loved magic. It just seemed as if she was the only one doing so. Being a first year everything was magical in the beginning. Coming from a magical family was nice and all, but never being able to use magic because it dwindled from year to year made her first experiences so much better...until the classes started that is. She loved magic, she truly did...she just wasn't really good at it. Somehow transforming a worm not into a bird but into a swarm of mosquitoes didn't win her any points with the professors or her classmates. So when she asked if someone wanted to attend her magic show, unsurprisingly nobody came forward. She may had just succeeded in making her entire class hate her in just one day. Which brought her to exactly this scenario. Asking random students from the upper years.  
The older witch with glasses sat alone under a tree reading a book, while scribbling every now and then on some loose papers. On one of them Chariot made out the outline of something cube shaped but most of it, or better all of it, made little to no sense to her. Nonetheless she was intrigued, so she followed her instincts and asked her. Confused green eyes met Chariot's red ones.

“I'm not interested.”

Chariot pouted. She was so sure this time would be different.  
“Why not? It's going to be fun, I promise.”

The older witch gave her an irritated sigh.  
“I have more important things to do than humoring first years.”

Something in Chariot bristled at that, swelled on and swirled inside her. She desperately needed her to see her magic...

‘Why though?’

“Magic IS the most important thing!”, she blurted out, practically yelling at the other witch, “I'll show you!”

The witch with green eyes stared blankly at her.  
She studied Chariot's face, suddenly seizing her chin and lifting it upwards. Something seemed to have caught her interest, even if the redhead had no idea what. After some agonizingly slow minutes the older witch released her chin and put her book down. Then she stared again.

“Well? What are you waiting for? Show me your magic!”

Chariot's eyes went wide and a bright smile spread over her face. She drew her wand enthusiastically and said: “A believing heart is my magic, open your heart, laugh with me!”

“METAMORPHIE FACIESS!”

###### 

When Chariot opened her eyes again, the sun was already setting and a cold breeze ruffled her red short hair.

“Ah, you're awake.”

Chariot turned her head to the source of the voice and looked into the green eyes of the older witch, whose lavender hair danced in the light of the evening sun.  
The redhead smiled faintly.  
“I guess I couldn't show you my love for magic?”

The blank mask of her schoolmate didn't change, she raised her eyebrows nonetheless.  
“No.”

Before Chariot could chime in with something lighthearted and silly, to make the moment less awkward, mostly for herself, the other witch continued:  
“But you impressed me.”

A weird feeling washed over Chariot, as soon as she understood the meaning of those words.  
“Really?”, she asked breathlessly, with a hopeful tone.

The other witch nodded with a hint of a smile on her lips.  
“Really!”

For a while all they did was stare at each other, then she extended her right hand to help Chariot up.

“Croix Meridies.”

The energetic redhead took it and barreled forward, forcing her new ‘friend’ Croix in a hug, who looked slightly startled at the sudden contact, but didn't pull away.

“My name is Chariot du Nord.”

###### June 2006

“Croix...psst...Croix”  
Knocking impatiently at the old door in the second year dormitory was almost common for Chariot, she had spend most of her time at this school sleeping over at Croix's. Even the teachers were turning a blind eye to it when neither Croix nor Chariot followed their order to stop this 'unorthodox' habit and no punishment seemed to work.  
The door opened almost immediately. Just like she had predicted, Croix was still awake, probably still working on some project of hers while others slept.

“Chariot du Nord”, she said amused, “were you banned from your room, yet again?”

This was normal for them. Croix often told her she loved having her around, that she was so lively and energetic, that it would inspire her. They developed a routine. Over time Chariot noticed that Croix's warm, caring nature, her easygoing smiles, her hugs, all were reserved only for her. With others she was polite but not as polite as giving them a smile, not even a forced one. She looked at everyone with dull green eyes and a blank mask. It made Chariot feel special, but somehow furthered the rift between her and her classmates. It normally didn't bother her...but today it really, really did.

“Yeah, they kicked me out”, she motioned to her sleepwear and forced a sheepish grin.

‘I don't even need them.’

Something must have shown on her face, or her tone, or maybe Croix just knew her too well, but all of the sudden her playfulness evaporated and a concerned look spread over her face. She took Chariot by her hands and pulled her into the room, leading her to the bed.

“I'm right back”, she said and went into another room to get ready for the night...what was left of it.  
Pulling on the blanket and getting into Croix's bed, Chariot felt herself immersed in softness. Luna Nova apparently gave their best rooms to their prodigies, not that she complained. Croix deserved everything she got, for all the hard work she did. She even helped her getting the seven words of Arcturus to restore magic to the world, not that anyone knew.

‘Of course no one would know.’

Chariot loved magic, she loved entertaining people, making them happy, but sometimes it was hard to be in this school. When she did do her little campus shows the other students were awed, they enjoyed it, seeing the possibilities for magic, the realization of dreams. But as soon as it ended they reverted back to the scornful students they were and that was taxing. Being cheerful was taxing. With Croix she could relax a little. Without her...

“Maybe you should put that on the table.”

Croix's voice snapped Chariot out of her thoughts. She was looking at the Claiomh Solais on her belt, the redhead totally forgot it was there, waiting for it to be moved. Not being able to touch it did hurt the older witch in the beginning, but in the end, she jumped at the opportunity to study and analyze the strange relationship between the rod and her friend. 

When they were comfortably nestled under the blanket together, Croix holding Chariot close, Chariot felt herself being overwhelmed by her feelings. Her vision blurred slightly and she had to blink the tears away, which were dangerously close to spilling out.

“What if I fail, Croix?”

Restoring magic? Her dream? The school? Croix herself?  
She didn't really know, her voice sounded strange, even to her own eyes.  
In response she felt the older witch pulling her closer, feeling her faint, but steady heartbeat on her back.

“You won't”, Croix whispered with such a conviction that Chariot couldn't help but believe her, “You will restore magic and you will fulfill your dream. Everyone will love you and your shows.”

The younger witch smiled tiredly, lulled to sleep by the rhythmical beating of Croix's heart, letting a lone tear fall. Not catching the soft kiss pressed on her cheek or the last sentence whispered to her: “I will make sure of it!”

###### 2018

Akko was snapped awake.  
Sucy was sitting beside her, snapping her fingers under her friends nose, hitting against it every now and then.

“Sucy!”, whined Akko loudly and the rest of the class looked startled to the source of the disturbance, even Professor Ursula paused for a moment.

“Is everything all right, Miss Kagari?”

“Huh?”, Akko froze, glancing around.  
She was in class. All eyes were on her...again.  
She could feel her face heating up, her ears slightly flushed.

“E-everything is great Ursula-Sensei”, she spluttered rapidly, already hearing a few snickers here and there, “I-i just thought there was...another love love bee.”

The snickers grew louder.  
“Is she for real?”

“First sleeping in class and now this nonsense.”

“Is she ever going to learn?”

“I told you it was better if she dropped out.”

“Enough!”

Akko looked up startled. With every word her classmates had said she had felt herself slouching more and more in her seat, trying not to give in her urge to scream or cry. She didn't know which one, probably both.

Diana and Professor Ursula seemed to have spoken at the same time and were standing, Diana by her seat and Ursula before her desk, staring at each other in surprise…  
Until Diana blinked and sat down again.  
“My apologies Ursula-Sensei.”

The teacher fiddled around nervously. Akko didn't get why, not that it really mattered, because her favorite teacher stood up for her, again.  
She felt so incredibly thankful for having her in her corner.

“You all shouldn't make assumptions about each other”, the professor spoke in a calm, collected manner, but with a firm undertone, “Miss Kagari did help me last night with some research for my next class. I guess she didn't get enough sleep and that is partly my fault. Please apologize to her.”

A whole round of quietly mumbled “sorry’s” made their way through the room.  
It wasn't really heartfelt, but it was alright.  
Ursula smiled at her class and continued her lesson, while Akko beamed at her and put even more effort into her work for the rest of the time.  
“It's really nice of Ursula-Sensei to say you helped her with research and not that you had detention”, whispered Lotte to Akko.

“Yeah”, agreed Akko, “but I wasn't actually tired today. I can't even remember how I fell asleep.”  
She couldn't, she wasn't tired, but she did end up seemingly asleep in class.  
‘Why though?’

“I kinda think I heard Shiny Chariot's voice...maybe?”  
She tried her best to remember her dream, but she couldn't grasp anything at all.

“Maybe it is connected to the seven words of Arcturus", chimed Sucy in from her other side, “you could ask Ursula-Sensei after class.”

Akko smiled at her two friends and nods enthusiastically.  
A bit later she once more heard some whispering behind her and she turned around to see what was going on. That's when she saw Diana Cavendish, a peaceful expression on her face, eyes closed, taking a nap in class.  
But apart from a few whispers here and there no one seemed to care. Of course not. It was after all the esteemed Diana. Akko was seething, balling her hands up in fists, trying to ignore the sudden rage spiking through her. If it was Diana slacking off no one gave a damn.

‘Just another way how she tells us, that we're all below her.  
I'm going to be a better witch than you, I'm going to be just like Shiny Chariot and then I'll show you real magic!’


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to say, I'm completely baffled, thank you for reading this story, I appreciate it.  
> That said, I'll try to update on a weekly basis, but writing in English definitely more time consuming,  
> so I might not always get it done on time. I'll try my best.  
> Enjoy^^

###### June 2006

Waiting for Chariot had become second nature to Croix.  
From the first time they'd met, the little redhead had her captivated.  
There was a spark to her.  
Something she had never seen before.  
Something that made her special.  
Not because the Claiomh Solais had chosen her, although that was an added bonus, no, what really made her so unlike everyone else was her natural sense for magic. Such a rare ability, that no one, beside herself, seemed to notice.

‘Ignorant traditionalists.’

How not even the teachers acknowledged Chariot's brilliance was beyond Croix.  
But what else should she expect from them? Their teaching staff consisted mostly of fools. Though the redhead didn’t seem to have a problem with that, it seemed. Rather, she was determined to fulfill her dream, even when no one believed in her, and that was probably the one thing that had really drawn Croix to her, that unwavering faith...which was slowly breaking apart.

Croix didn't need to guess who exactly was behind that development and it made her absolutely furious.

‘They don't deserve her!’

She really needed to increase the work on her research, time was of the essence. She didn't know how long she could motivate Chariot with words alone. Not when she seemed to grow more and more unstable.  
Croix sighed deeply. She never thought she would care about someone like that. Logically it wouldn't even make sense. Their personalities were like polar opposites, but...

‘I really like her’

The older witch sighed again and leaned against the wall, staring at the door to Chariot's classroom, willing it to open. She didn't like standing around doing nothing, she just wanted to collect the redhead and be on her way.

“Croix-Senpai, good afternoon.”

Croix snapped out of her intense gazing and focused on the brunette girl in front of her, one of Chariot's roommates, she realized.

“Good afternoon”, she replied in a monotone voice, not at all interested in making small talk.

The girl fidgeted nervously, glancing from Croix to the door and back again.

“Are you perhaps waiting for Chariot?”, she tried again, apparently still hoping against all odds that the older witch would strike a conversation with her.

“Yes.”

‘Can you leave me alone now?’

The girl really began to annoy her. She still didn't show the slightest inclination to walk away, seemingly waiting for something, maybe another sentence, a bit more, than the short response Croix had given her. When the silence stretched on too long, the girls face fell slightly, wringing her hands nervously she attempted to speak yet again:  
“I-i don't know what C-chariot told you about me, b-but I really admire you…”

She breathed out shakily. Then, with a much firmer voice, she continued.

“She and Therese always clash so much, and I always end up in the middle, so I’m actually glad that she has found a friend in you. I don’t have anything against Chariot, but their constant fights put a strain on our relationship, not to mention our team as a whole...so… maybe...”

Her eyes seemed to gleam with sudden excitement.  
Croix felt slightly uncomfortable with the way the girl looked at her.

‘Where is she going with this?’

“Maybe we could work together, you and me. We could mend the fences so to speak, that would benefit us all. I'll go talk with Therese and you could do the same with Chariot and-”

“What exactly would me talking to Chariot accomplish?”, interrupted Croix, narrowing her eyes, a sudden edge to her tone. It implied a warning.  
That was probably one of the reasons she didn't like talking to people. They always made assumptions, as if they knew her…or Chariot for that matter.

The girls eyes widened in shock and she raised her hands in a, what she may had hoped, placating way.  
“I-i didn't mean-... that's not-, I-”, she stammered obviously in panic, but Croix didn't wait for a coherent reply.

“You want me to **what?**  
Tell her she has to endure and condone being thrown out of her own room by her so called ‘teammates’?  
Or perhaps that she should tolerate being ridiculed by that cowardly friend of yours, Helene?”

The girl's gaze fell to the floor, as soon as, the older witch finished. Her hands clenched in fists, as she murmured: “Helena.”

Croix schooled her features back into the stoic mask she wore all the time, trying not to lose control over her emotions. When it came to Chariot she just felt too much.

“My apologies Helene”, she told the brunette, who was still not meeting her eyes,”but I am not in the mood to debate this topic further with you.”

“It's Helena!”, the girl all but screamed with newfound determination, fueled by her anger.  
“Chariot is not some perfect, innocent angel, who got send down to us from heaven.  
You have no Idea what she is really like, how she selfishly insists on taking on every contest the school has to offer, just because it benefits her and her childish dream.  
It's not like she asks us if we want to participate, we just have to, they're team challenges after all.”

Helena stopped herself, trying to catch her breath.  
Croix just stared at her in the same stoic way as before. She didn't say anything, she didn't feel anything. At the moment she was completely devoid of any emotion.  
The girl raised her head again and looked directly in the older witch's eyes, clearly still upset, but with an underlying hint of...pity?  
Then much calmer, she spoke again:

“I know that she is your friend, Croix-Senpai, so you care for her, obviously, but...you shouldn't put her on a pedestal.  
That is only going to hurt you and...I like you too much to let that happen, even if you might hate me right now.”

“Was that it?”

Croix's voice was dangerously quiet, almost soft compared to her usual rough tone. She stepped away from the wall and drew her wand, all in one fluid motion. Then with a flick of her wrist she pointed it at the confused girl, who seemed more and more worried by her behavior.

“Croix-Senpai-”

She didn't get to utter more than that before she saw the tip of the older witch's wand flash green.  
Croix raised the girl from the ground. Her ears were ringing, her vision blurred.

**‘How dare she?’**

Pictures flashed before her eyes.  
Chariot failing again and again, while being laughed at by her classmates,  
Chariot forcing smiles while being reprimanded by teachers,  
Chariot full of determination as they tried to revive a new word,  
Chariot knocking at her door every night with a tired look on her face,  
Chariot clinging to her, desperately, questioning her own worth,  
Chariot so so afraid of not being good enough.

**‘And you are one of the reasons she thinks that!’**

Something inside of Croix snapped. Gripping her wand tightly she forced the girl's arms to move upwards, hands circling her neck. Unadulterated fear radiated from Helena, but she didn't care.  
She would protect Chariot.

###### 2018

Diana screamed.  
Her heart hammered , while her eyes roamed wildly over her surroundings.  
What did she just see?  
After reaffirming that she was apparently sitting at her own desk, an open book before her, she focused on slowing her erratic breathing down. Looking at the window threw her off again. It was still light outside, so she couldn't have been asleep that long.  
When did that even happen?  
She remembered finishing her afternoon classes, then going to the library, to get the books she ordered. Hannah and Barbara went to town, they asked her, if she wanted to go with them, but she politely declined. She had after all more important things to do, than fooling around, and after that she began her research...so when did she fall asleep?

‘I can't seem to remember.  
Didn't the same thing happen earlier today in Ursula-Sensei's class, too?  
What a strange coincidence...’

Speaking of the blue-haired teacher, she meant to ask her a few questions, but after napping in the middle of her lesson, she refrained from doing so. She didn't want to give her the wrong impression.  
Ursula Callistis...  
Who did never attend Luna Nova, if you believed the yearbooks. And she looked through every book there was, well those who would made it possible for her having known about Croix Meridies. From 2005 to 2009, and she found no trace of her, absolutely nothing...  
She did find however the undisputed idol of a certain troublemaker in the yearbook of 2008, maybe she should tell her about that...

‘If she even listens to me.’

Since the strike, their relationship seemed to have taken a turn for the worse, one she is unsure of how to mend. All her efforts were either ignored or simply belittled, she couldn't think of a way she hadn't tried already. Maybe Akko was chronically blind.  
Which, in regard to the present time, would be fairly welcomed.  
Being the apparent president of, the new appointed Croix, fan club, unmade so much of the progress Akko had made.  
Well, she did seem to study more, which was good, but her whole attitude to magic slowly changed and that after all the hard work she had put behind it.  
Diana only had to think of her wonderful performance at the Samhain festival.  
It was so impressive.  
That alone was the reason she made sure no one mentioned her winning the 'Moonlight Witch' title in front of Akko, so that it was mostly glossed over. To her the brunette witch had won that night.  
What made understanding her right now even harder.

‘So complicated.’

Diana sighed and filtered through her notes. Her findings on ‘Professor’ Croix were rather sparse, especially when it came to her afterschool life, which made her, in the blonde's eyes, more than questionable. Not because she didn't like the new teacher, which she didn't, no, Croix had an unnerving atmosphere to her. The way she smiled, at Akko especially, but also how she looked at Professor Ursula. Diana couldn't even attempt to describe the intense gazing from the tech witch towards the soft spoken teacher as anything but weird. Not to mention it always happened when the blunette wasn't paying attention.  
But there was nothing linking those two together, after all Ursula Callistis didn't exist...  
The only connection Croix seemed to have, was being the upperclassmen of Chariot du Nord, who disappeared ten years ago...  
So what if...

‘What if Ursula is also connected to Shiny Chariot?!’

A knock on the door interrupted her thought process.

“Please, do come in”, Diana said with a hint of remorse to her tone.

‘I am after all apparently a genie, solver of all problems.’

The door swung open and Professor Finneran entered the room, a staple of documents under her arm.

“Diana”, she greeted the younger witch with one of her rare, faint smiles, “I didn't see you at dinner, are you feeling under the weather?”

Diana shook her head and stood up from her desk.

“All is fine”, she ensured the vice principal, flashing a small smile herself, “I was just taking a short nap, working through the night seemed to have taken a toll on me.”

Finneran's eyes shone proudly as she inclined her head.  
“As expected from you Diana Cavendish, never faltering in your endeavors. You are the hope of this school.”

A nostalgic note crept into her voice.

“Croix was originally supposed to carry the future of magic into the new world, but... well, you see what she did with her incredible talent. We should have never let her and Chariot do as they pleased, she obviously was a bad influence all along.”

Diana's breath hitched.

‘Was it possible?’

“Was Chariot close to Croix-Sensei?”

The older witch looked surprised at her question, but answered nonetheless.

“Yes, it was fairly ridiculous mind you, the most promising student we had, wasting her time on that scandalous troublemaker, being inseparable and causing disturbances-  
Diana?”

Diana was already at the door, leaving Professor Finneran behind. She had heard enough.

‘Chariot and Croix were best friends!’

Pieces of her dream skittered through her mind.  
Croix was impossibly close to Chariot.

‘Why didn't she tell Akko?’

Telling her stories about Shiny Chariot would win the energetic witch over in a heartbeat, so why didn't she?  
The connection between everyone involved with the words of Arcturus was Chariot du Nord, who disappeared ten years ago...  
Ursula Callistis didn't exist...  
There was no connection between Ursula Callistis and Croix Meridies...  
Ursula Callistis didn't exist...  
She was Akko's mentor, who was the new wielder of the Claiomh Solais...  
Ursula Callistis didn't exist...  
Croix looking at Ursula all the time...  
Everything was connected to Chariot, but Ursula didn't exist...  
So that meant…

‘No!’

How could she have been so blind?  
Diana practically sprinted to the blue-haired teacher's classroom, hoping she would still be there.  
When she reached her destination, she slammed the door open with such a force, that it echoed down the hall.  
Professor Ursula looked startled at the young witch.  
Diana sighed in relief.  
She wasn't too late after all.

“Diana?”, the teacher said worried, “can I help you with something?"

The blonde took a moment to straighten herself up, trying to calm her nerves down.

‘Let's see if I am right.’

“Yes”, she replied, pleased by the fact that her voice sounded as composed as always, “the last time you helped me was at the library, when I collected information about Croix-Sensei, do you remember?”

The blue-haired witch's eyes widened slightly, her focus lost, flitting from one point to another.  
She seemed nervous.

“Y-yes?”, she stammered with a forced laugh, “but I already told you all I knew about her.”

‘Of course you did.’

“I am aware”, Diana continued, “and I thank you for your assistance, but after I had concluded my research I was left with another question pertaining a certain individual you should also be acquainted with...I am naturally talking about Chariot du Nord.”

Ursula all but jumped out of her skin by the mention of that name.

‘So far so good.’

“Huh?”, was the only sound she made, her voice a bit higher than usual, “w-well, I did know her.”  
She interrupted herself and laughed shakily. 

“We all did know her, she was the troublemaker after all.”

“So you had to be aware, that her and Croix-Sensei were close friends”, the Cavendish pressed on.

“W-well...maybe, there was a rumor-”

“And that she dragged Croix-Sensei down with her.”

“Huh?”  
Ursula froze. That statement had successfully rendered her speechless.

‘Now or never!’

“I myself am inclined to believe, that that fraud put her up to this shameful mockery, this so called ‘new magic’. It sure is tragic when prodigies like us are so recklessly exploited by the lower classes. Even now time tries to repeat itself in the form of...well you don't need me to tell you who it is, everyone knows-”

“SHUT UP!”

Suddenly there was some strange energy in the room.  
Energy so hot and destructive that it made Diana shudder. She regretted provoking the other witch. Maybe she should have just asked her right out, instead of trying to make her slip up and admit that she was indeed Shiny Chariot.  
Then for a short moment everything flashed bright red, so intense, that the younger witch needed to squeeze her eyes shut.

‘Where did that come from, was she just trying to blind me?’

As Diana dared to open her eyes again, she was petrified.  
There sprawled on the ground behind her teacher's desk was Ursula...unconscious, not moving…  
Not breathing?  
For the second time that day, Diana couldn't help but scream.

###### June 2006

Chariot knocked impatiently on Croix's door. When the older witch didn't pick her up after class she got worried. So she went back to her room by herself, only to be stopped by an awfully cheerful Helena Schwarz, who apologized for being a terrible roommate. Horribly confused she had begun to look for Croix, not knowing what to think about that sudden transformation.  
As the door opened, Chariot stormed right into the room, not even bothering with a greeting.

“Hello to you, too Chariot”, said Croix with a sarcastic undertone. She seemed more amused than anything else, sitting at her desk, notes scattered everywhere.

The redhead sighed, trotting towards her friend, who was smiling brightly at her. It tugged on her heartstrings. Croix smiling was her favorite thing in the world...besides entertaining of course.

‘So much for staying mad at her.’

“Where were you?”, she asked, pouting slightly, “You promised to pick me up.”  
She was now standing before the older witch, whose smile slowly spread into a grin, before she pulled Chariot down to her.  
With a shriek she found herself now on Croix's lap.

“Croix”, she grumbled, her face heating up significantly, “stop trying to distract me.”

“Me, distracting you?”, the perpetrator murmured in the crook of her neck, nipping lightly at the skin there, “What do you take me for?”

Chariot's nerves were on fire, a pleasant hum vibrated through her whole body.  
Shuddering she pulled away a little, trying to clear her head.

“You are pretty forward today”, she grinned mischievously, kissing the tip of Croix's nose, “is there a reason for that?”

Green eyes locked with her own and the world seemed to stand still as Croix raised her right hand, to caress her cheek affectionately, gazing at her with unadulterated adoration. It made Chariot's heart doing back flips, trying to break itself out of her ribcage. She never felt like that before. Croix was the only one who elicited so many emotions inside her.

‘I love you so much.’

“Do I need a reason to show you how much you mean to me?”

The conviction behind her words always made the redhead speechless, made her believe everything the other witch told her. So when Croix leaned forward to capture her lips in a tender kiss, she had no complaints.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally finished this chapter,  
> sometimes I thought I would never get it done before my head explodes,  
> but here we are.  
> Thank you all for reading this story.  
> Enjoy^^

###### 2018

Akko yawned.  
She was so tired. Maybe she shouldn't have stayed up to study the new material of Modern Magic, but she simply loved it. It was by far her favorite subject. Nothing against Professor Ursula of course, only... Astronomy wasn't really her thing, like most courses at Luna Nova.  
The Modern Magic lessons were her chance to finally excel at something other than causing trouble and Professor Croix did actually like her, unlike the other teachers. And besides that, she also knew Shiny Chariot, she even praised her.  
For Akko, that meant a lot and gave her more than enough reasons to try and impress the tech witch. Ursula remained her favorite professor, naturally.  
Her mentor, the first one who truly believed in her right from the start, who still did everything to help and support her...  
Shiny Chariot surly had had a good friend in her. They must have been really close. The younger witch could totally relate to that. Chariot was, after all, her idol and wouldn't befriend someone who was blinded by traditions like...well, Diana for example. Professor Croix on the other hand would have been a great friend...too bad they weren't rivals back then.  
Thinking back to the visions she saw at the Fountain of Polaris, she wondered what Chariot's school life had been like.

‘Did you have the same hang ups as me?’

From what she gathered from the teachers and other students, the redhead wasn't that well received, even as a child, so she must have been pretty lonely, having only the shy blunette as her friend and not being appreciated by the rest of her schoolmates.

‘Witches can be really cruel.’

That was why Akko had to find her, to tell her what a wonderful witch she was, that she inspired her to chase after her own dream, more importantly, that she gave her one to begin with. Maybe they could even search for the remaining words together. The brunette grinned brightly.

‘That would be so amazing!’

“Good morning Akko.”

Akko's grin widened to an impossible degree, as she spun around enthusiastically, already knowing the owner of the voice.

“Croix-Sensei, good morning”, she greeted the tech witch, almost singing the words.

Croix herself had an easy smile on her lips, her cape fluttering slightly, as she walked towards her student. 

“Do I see you in my class today?”, she asked in an upbeat tone.

“Of course!”

The younger witch couldn't wait to show her what she had learned. She was so excited, especially since it seemed that Diana was refusing to even participate in the lessons. Apparently even Diana Cavendish had found a subject she was struggling with.

‘Maybe that'll teach her that she's not All That’  
...  
[Isn't that a bit harsh?]

Akko blinked confused.  
Where did that thought come from?  
Diana didn't deserve her sympathy. Always belittling her and her efforts, her hard work. Continually making her feel self-conscious, making her feel as if she didn't belong here.

[Do you really think that?]

‘What?’

“Akko?”

The voice of Professor Croix ripped her from her internal debate. The teacher stared at her quizzically.  
She must have looked really ridiculous, gazing at her the whole time. The brunette smiled sheepishly.

“Sorry, what did you just say, Sensei?”

Letting out a raspy, short laugh, the tech witch shook her head.

“Honestly, what am I going to do with you?”

RED...

That was all Akko saw for a moment, like a quick angry lightning bolt.  
Those words...  
She couldn't breathe, she couldn't talk.  
Everything hurt.

‘What's happening?’

Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Croix, a concerned expression on her face, apparently talking to her...  
But she couldn't hear a thing, her ears were ringing.  
She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the pain...  
It wasn't working.

‘Make it stop!’

Akko didn't know how long she would be able to hold herself upright. She couldn't pinpoint the source of the pain, like it didn't even belong to her. It spread through her whole body, getting more intense with every beat of her heart and then...

It was gone.  
Just as fast and unpredictable as it came.  
Finally able to breathe again, Akko inhaled harshly, trying to steady her wobbling knees, only now realizing that she was being held by Professor Croix. They were in the middle of the hallway, where anyone could see them, but that didn't seem to matter to the older witch. She only began to loosen her hold on her, as the brunette's breathing became more regular.

“Do you feel a bit better now?”

Akko turned her head to look at the worried teacher, the aftershocks of what she had just endured, vanishing completely. Slowly she nodded her head.

“Yes”, her voice came out squeakier than she thought, so she flashed a light smile, in hopes of convincing the tech witch, “I don't know what came over me.”

She tried to laugh, but it sounded forced, even to her own ears.  
Professor Croix didn't seem to buy it either but she just shrugged and stepped away from her student, her cheerful exterior returning.

“Panic attacks are fairly common, you know?”, she explained in a soft voice.  
“They can be accompanied by other symptoms, such as dizziness, a rapid heartbeat, trembling and, of course, shortness of breath.”

‘Panic attack?  
Is that what it was?’

Strangely enough that sounded even plausible. Akko wasn't sure what to think, she never had had an attack like that, so why would she get one now?

“Sensei, do you think, it could be connected to the words?”

The tech witch raised her hands in a sweeping gesture, apparently clueless.

“Like I told you before Akko, I'm not that well versed in this regard, why don't you ask your Astronomy professor?”

“You mean Ursula-Sensei?”  
Come to think of it, she never saw those two in the same room at the same time.

‘How odd.’

The older witch nodded.  
She opened her mouth to add something, but was loudly interrupted by a shrill, aggravated sounding voice behind them.

“What do you think you are doing, Croix-Sensei?”

They both turned their heads towards the perpetrator.  
Professor Finneran stared at the tech witch with narrowed eyes, a grim expression on her face. She was absolutely furious.  
Croix didn't even seem startled by that, never breaking her calm and charming demeanor.

“Is something the matter, Finneran-Sensei?”

The vice principal didn't even try to compose herself, as if Akko being present didn't register with her.

“Did you not hear the announcement yesterday?”

Croix shook her head dramatically, her right hand placed over her heart, a feigned, shocked expression spreading over her face, as she answered:

“My deepest apologies Finneran-Sensei, I must have been so caught up in my research that I missed it.  
Was there another teacher meeting?”

Akko watched puzzled as Professor Finneran's behavior seemed to change immediately, the anger dissipating, a stricken look in her eyes, as she sighed loudly.

“Could you please inform the first year students, that Ursula-Sensei's courses are canceled for today?  
They shall wait for further instructions regarding the rest of the week.”

‘Huh?’

“Why are her lessons canceled?”, asked the tech witch, a surprised note to her tone.

Akko suddenly felt sick to her stomach. Something was wrong. But that couldn't be, because she saw Professor Ursula yesterday...right? She even had asked her about the strange nap session. She had said she would look for some hints. So... everything was alright...

[Are you sure?]

“There was an accident-”

She didn't wait for Finneran to finish her sentence, no, she ran. She ran as fast as possible through the hallway, tears blurring her vision. She stopped by Ursula's chamber, hammering at the door, forcing it open, only to be greeted by an empty room. The bed was still made and it didn't look, like someone slept in it. Spinning around Akko sprinted back, towards yesterday's classroom, but apart from the bemused expressions of her classmates, she found nothing. Ursula wasn't there.  
Still trying to hold her tears at bay she walked slowly to the infirmary.

‘Please no!’

Every step she took filled her more and more with dread.

‘Nonononononono’

Once she stood before the door she extended a shaking hand, pushing lightly against it. The door slid open and revealed the blue-haired teacher, laying in a bed, her breathing labored, her face contorted in pain, sweating profoundly, fighting against, what Akko could only describe as, a grave fever attack.  
And there, on a chair right next to the bed, head slumped against her chest, sat...

‘Diana?!’

###### June 2006

“Croix”, whined Chariot for the fifth time that day, “stop working already.”

After Helena's miraculous transformation, Croix had buried herself in her research, her hair pinned up into a messy bun, not even taking breaks to eat, instead slurping down some kind of Japanese noodle cups, which were probably totally unhealthy, and every time the redhead tried to separate her friend from her beloved laptop she got shot down.

“Chariot, please stop trying to distract me, this is very important right now”, the older witch said tiredly, seemingly irritated by the younger witch's behavior.

Chariot pouted, jumping from Croix's bed, approaching the workaholic silently.  
Hugging her from behind, she bumped her nose against her friend's neck, kissing it softly, hearing her breath hitch slightly, pausing the endless tapping on the keyboard.  
Feeling encouraged the redhead proceeded, leaving a trail of light kisses on her way to the lavender-haired witch's ear, which earned her a slight shudder.  
Not at all satisfied with that response Chariot began to nibble at her earlobe, biting down gently, in the spur of the moment.  
Apparently this seemed to do the trick, because in the blink of an eye, Croix spun around, causing Chariot to lose her balance, as she fell forward into the older witch's waiting arms.  
The younger witch felt her face getting hot. Being so close to Croix always rattled her. Her ears flushed red in embarrassment.  
She really wasn't that skilled at initiating the...more physical aspect of their relationship. She was a master of hugging, kissing and cuddling, but anything beyond that was more Croix's domain.

‘She probably researched it.’

The lavender-haired witch spun the chair again, trapping Chariot against the desk. Pressing her against it, she surged forward and kissed the redhead with such fervor, that she felt slightly dizzy.  
Chariot was on fire, the kiss send a jolt of electric waves down her spine, magic swirling inside her, building up, begging to be released.  
When Croix slowly pulled back she felt spend, trying to catch her breath, her heart racing. Everything inside her urged her on to continue, to claim the other witch's lips again, to-

“Didn't I tell you to stop distracting me?”

Coming out of her daze, all Chariot could do was stare at her friend.  
Her voice had a husky note to it, her breathing was slightly labored and her eyes were gleaming with barely restraint desire.

‘At least I'm not the only one, who's affected by this.’

Struggling to get her voice back to function the redhead asked:

“So only you're allowed to do it?”

It came out raspier than she anticipated. Croix backed slightly away from the desk, an amused expression on her face, not breaking their eye contact.

“Of course”, she said cheekily, “that is my right as your elder.”

Chariot pouted again.

“That doesn't sound fair at all.”

The older witch chuckled lightly, winking at her.

“You should know by now, that I am never playing fair.”

The redhead sighed dramatically:

“Oh, don't I know it”, before both broke out in laughter.

As they quieted down again Croix's gaze wandered to the clock on her desk and back to Chariot.  
An apologetic smile spread over her face.

“I am sorry Chariot, but I really have to get back to my work.”  
She sounded sincere enough, Chariot supposed, but that didn't mean it wasn't frustrating.

“Today is the flying contest for the third years”, she said softly, “I thought, maybe you would like to come with me, you know, we could search for the next word and...”

Croix raised her right eyebrow at that, totally not believing her.

Chariot ducked her head at being caught.

‘I'm such a bad liar.’

“Or...just to see their performance”, she muttered finally, “getting new Ideas for my shows and all.”

The older witch seemed to mull that over, looking at her laptop, possibly calculating how much longer she would need to finish.

“Give me two more hours”, she relented with a sigh.

She couldn't even react as a red blur leapt at her, hugging her with excitement.  
“Thank you, you won't regret it, I promise!”

“Oh, I am sure of it”, she drawled sarcastically, “but you have to let me work in peace, understood?  
No more interruptions.”

Chariot let go of Croix with a mock salute, grinning brightly.

“Alright”, she said happily, running towards the door, waving at her friend, “I'll go pack a few things. We’ll meet at the Leyline terminal, ok?”

“Yes”, replied the older witch with exasperation, but her eyes betrayed the joy she felt, as she waved back.

 

Two hours came and went.  
After collecting the Claiomh Solais from her room, Chariot had sneaked into the kitchen to grab a few snacks. She figured, she and Croix could have some kind of pick nick after the contest. They wouldn't have much free time once the final exams would start...  
But she didn't show up, not even once another hour went by.  
When she went to her room to look for her, no one was there. She wasn't at the library, she wasn't at their favorite spot, she was nowhere to be found.  
Chariot even began to ask around, if anyone had seen the older witch, but...nothing.  
So she stood at the Leyline terminal, a broom in her hand, leaning against the stone wall, waiting.  
She had an uneasy feeling about this.

‘Croix, where are you?’

“Well, well, well, if it isn't our dear Charidiot”  
The unpleasant voice of her roommate, Therese, filled the area. She was flanked by three other girls, one of them, whom she recognized as Helena, who gazed blankly at her.

‘How odd.’

Sighing deeply she tried to ignore the blonde, short-haired girl before her...  
And Croix still wasn't here.  
Therese sneered at her, obviously taking her silence as a challenge.

“Now you are even too good to acknowledge me?”, she asked, as she feigned a hurt expression.  
Her followers snickered, except Helena, who still gazed at her and...  
Croix still wasn't here.

“How rude”, she said loudly, standing with her hands on her hips, “no wonder Croix-Senpai ditched you.”

‘Huh?’

“What are you talking about?”  
Chariot narrowed her eyes, an angry note to her voice.

‘Don't let her get to you!’

“Ah, now she talks to me”, the blonde drawled, which earned the redhead a round of mocking laughter.

“Cut the crap, Therese!”, she said sharply, “What do you mean, ‘Croix ditched me’?”  
She gripped her broom more tightly, trying to suppress the urge to whack the obnoxious girl with it. It would certainly help if said girl wouldn't smile at her so cruelly.

‘What have I ever done to you?’

Before Therese could respond, Helena interrupted her, in a quiet emotionless tone:

“Stop being mean to Chariot.”

This sentence puzzled Chariot, it lacked...absolutely everything. Since when did the brunette seem so...vacant? There wasn't a better word for it. And more importantly...

‘Why are you suddenly standing up for me?’

Helena always followed Therese around, doing everything she demanded of her. The only time they were on relatively good terms, was, when the blonde was gallivanting elsewhere and even that had come to an end as soon as the brunette had developed a crush on Croix.  
Speaking of which...

‘Where are you?’

Therese looked absolutely speechless, the other two witches didn't fare any better. No one dared to say a word, until the blonde let out an exasperated sigh, accompanied with a shake of her head.

“You sound like a broken record, Helena”, she said amused, her eyes softening. It was barely noticeable, but Chariot could feel the change in her energy, pulling at the strings connected to the sorcerer's stone.

When she got no response from the brunette, she shrugged, turning around to face her other companions.

“Well, never mind, let's go, or we won't make it to the contest on time.”

Now seemingly ignoring the redhead, they sat on their respective brooms.

“TIA FREYRE”, echoed from the walls, as they took off.

“Wait!”, Chariot yelled after them, “Tell me where Croix is!”

As the others flew off, Therese looked over her shoulder rolling her eyes.

“She is researching, of course, and if you weren't able to find her, then I guess she just doesn't want to see you. Guilt tripping is what you do best after all.”

‘That's not true!’

Everything in Chariot screamed at her that the blonde witch was lying, that Croix would never think something like that. That there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for her absence, but...

‘Croix is not coming.’

Chariot felt conflicted, turning her back towards the school, she mumbled the flying incantation herself. She would talk to Croix when she got back.

‘If I can find her, that is.’

###### 

The sun was slowly setting when she finally saw the stand, build on a tree, which was supported by magic, full of students, who stared at the participants with stunned expressions on their faces, obviously awed. The contest was already in full swing, much to Chariot's chagrin, but there was nothing she could do to change that, so...

‘Better find a place and enjoy the rest of the show.’

She shifted her weight on the broom to begin her descent, when suddenly a piercing pain jolted her upright again. Automatically she felt herself disconnecting from the Leyline, only to switch to another one. The slight disruption in her magic flow caused her to almost fall down. Panicked she looked around. Apparently she wasn't the only one having trouble. The contestants were yelling loudly at each other, seemingly as confused as her. The students at the stand became more and more unsettled, searching for a Professor...

‘Where are they?’

She couldn't spot one, did they leave already?

‘What's going on?’

The first contestants were spiraling down, screaming for help.  
The piercing pain returned, hot and angry, disrupting the natural flow of magic.  
Chariot closed her eyes, stretching her senses...  
The Leyline was trembling, shaking, clawing at everything it could get.

‘It's collapsing!’

As if on cue, the Leyline quivered again, flashing bright green...and vanished.  
Everything that happened afterwards was a blur for the redhead.  
First started the screaming, the third year contestants fell towards the ground, the stand slowly creaking, forming cracks, breaking apart.  
Then panic began to set in and everything was thrown into chaos.  
Amidst the painful cries for help, Chariot saw the Claiomh Solais glimmering in a sinister red light.

‘Something is wrong.’

“Help!”

Chariot froze.  
She knew that voice.  
The scream had come from the breaking stand. Therese, Helena and the other two witches had tried to climb down and were now trapped, as one of the tree's branches had snapped, blocking their way.  
For a fleeting moment Chariot tried to feel satisfaction at seeing them like this.  
Helpless, afraid, desperate...  
But she couldn't.  
For all the things they put her through, they were still human beings.  
They were still her teammates.

‘I have to do something!’

The question was what?  
They needed magic!  
Otherwise everyone would probably fall to their deaths.  
Only...magic was generated from Leylines...and the one they had used was dead...  
The next one was too far away for them to connect to...  
They needed...what did Croix call that thing that allowed her to establish a link between the internet and her laptop?

‘A router!’

They needed a router, something that could tie them to another Leyline and the only one who could do that was-

‘Me...’

With sudden determination the redhead gripped the Claiomh Solais tightly and raised it up into the air, letting the magic flow through her. The rod flashed brightly, a mix of red and green light erupted from the young witch.  
It felt as if she was ripped in half, a burning she never experienced before. It hurt...

**‘Make it stop!’**

But she couldn't.  
She couldn't stop, because if she did...

The magic pulsed through her with every beat of her heart, intensifying more and more.  
She couldn't see.  
She couldn't think.  
She couldn't scream.  
She could only squeeze the rod harder, the one thing that held her together...  
And then... she was falling...

**“CHARIOT!”**

###### 2018

Diana woke once her face came into contact with the hard floor. Trashing wildly she gasped for air, trying to escape the pain, which-

‘What pain?’

Pausing for a moment, she looked around. It was dark.  
She wasn't in pain, well apart from her pounding head that is, which she probably got from falling out of her bed. Only that it wasn't her bed at all. The white linen and the sterile odor that made her head spin even worse, did indicate that she appeared to be in the infirmary.  
What was she doing in the infirmary in the middle of the night?

‘Ursula!’

Yesterday's events came rushing back to her.  
Confronting Professor Ursula.  
That powerful blast of magic.  
The blinding light.  
Her teacher lying on the ground, not getting up.  
Professor Finneran finding them, trying to calm her down, taking them both to the infirmary.  
Making that horrible announcement.  
Ursula not waking up...

‘Why?’

The cold of the floor seeped into her clothes and cooled her down, making her think clearly.  
The last thing she remembered was sitting beside the blunette, so obviously someone had moved her into another room. Standing up slowly she padded barefoot through the room. The only door it possessed was closed, but she was still able to hear something. A faint whimper. Silently sliding the door open she made out the source of heard noise.  
Professor Ursula.  
A sudden wave of guilt washed over the blonde.

‘I did not mean for that to happen.’

She just wanted to get answers, she wanted to restore magic, to fulfill her mother's vision, she wanted...

‘Stop!’

She didn't have time to break down right now. With newfound strength she took a few steps towards the sleeping teacher, when something caught her attention. A slight buzzing. Stopping in the middle of the room she let her gaze wander.  
There, on a lone chair right next to Ursula laid one of those tablets, or smart phones, she really didn't get the difference, ‘Professor’ Croix had invented.

‘What is it doing here?’

Quietly, Diana went to the chair, picking it up. She tapped the screen lightly and jumped a little when it lit up.

“Chronosphere”, she read aloud,  
“Unauthorized connection detected...  
Status report: Active...  
Waiting for administration...  
Compatibility check: Done...  
Transmitting Data: 57%...”

‘What is this?’

“See, Chariot”, someone said, emerging from the other side of the room, startling the blonde, “I told you, you wouldn't be able to stop me.”

‘Croix!‘


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a feeling that my chapters are getting longer and longer,  
> I had to split it up, or I would have never finished this.  
> Anyway, thank you all for reading this story.  
> Enjoy^^

###### June 2006

 

Croix cursed silently under her breath.  
Why did Professor Finneran had to need her help right now?  
She had just wanted to bring back a few books, already making preparations for her departure with Chariot. If she had known that the vice principal would have been waiting for her in the library, ready to bombard her with questions and giving her a 'most important' task to solve, she would have just tossed them to the librarian and been on her way again.  
But she hadn't.  
Just as Finneran hadn't listened to her, when she tried to explain why she couldn't help her today, instead she had rambled on about her responsibilities as the school prodigy, the sole ‘hope’ of Luna Nova, and dragged her off to the principal's office. On her way there the older witch managed to spot Chariot's blonde roommate, who looked at her with disdain plainly showing in her eyes, as she asked the younger witch to deliver a message to Chariot, to inform her about her current situation.  
At the very least she wouldn't worry the redhead unnecessarily.  
As the hours ticked by, Croix grew bored, even frustrated. Her task demanded from her to study some ancient dragon scrolls, apparently the witches were indebted, or something like that, and it totally was beyond her why nobody of the teaching staff was able to read them.

‘Such incompetence.’

She herself wasn't even remotely interested in ancient magic, but did that stop her from learning everything she could?  
No.  
In the end it was better not to dwell on the question, how most of them were even allowed to teach, but to make matters worse, as far as Croix understood, there actually was no dept for the dragon to collect. In other words, the teachers were conned.

‘Imagine that.’

And for this, she had wasted almost four whole hours.

‘I hope Chariot forgives me.’

The redhead was probably already at the contest, after all, she loved to learn new tricks. Croix couldn't begrudge her that, if it made her happy and it did...so much.

‘I know her dream means everything to her...  
Even more than me...’

Not that this would bother her, no, because, wasn't that exactly the reason she fell for the redhead in the first place? Her free spirit, her openness, her honesty, the way how her eyes would light up when she was excited, her carefree smiles...  
She really hoped the results of her project would impress Chariot, would elicit one of those treasured smiles.

‘I would do anything for you!’

Thinking about the redhead's shy roommate, Helena, made her shudder a bit. She didn't mean to lose control like this, but...in the end she was able to try out her new abilities, seeing the fruits of her hard work, testing her prototype...  
And it shouldn't even concern her. After all, she didn't care about the girl. Maybe now Chariot had at least some kind of support, never mind how forced it may appear.

‘The end justifies the means.’

Sometimes the depth of her emotions scared Croix.  
It was so rare for her to be so overwhelmed…  
She wasn’t used to it.  
How could she feel so much for someone she had only known about a year?  
How was it possible to be so drawn to her?  
She wasn't privy about the way Chariot felt about her, but if it was even a fraction of this, nothing would ever tear them apart, not even Croix's impending graduation next year.

‘Nothing will separate us, I swear.’

A slight flickering brought her out of her thoughts. The lamps in the office blacked out, switching on again a few seconds later. Intrigued she went to the window, looking outside.  
There, far, far away, she saw a faint blinking light, so soft that it made her wonder if it was even real.  
A quiet buzzing filled the room, the lamps failed once again, leaving the setting sun as the only illuminating source in the office.  
From the hall she could hear faint footsteps, growing louder, until the door swung open and revealed a terrified Professor Finneran, followed by two other teachers.

“How could you let this happen?”, she reprimanded them, ignoring Croix who still stood beside the window, “Running away from your duties like that, disgraceful. Have you any Idea what the press will make of this?”

The teachers, a pair of substitutes, Croix realized, mumbled something that sounded relatively like an excuse, shaking like leaves, their eyes wide and unfocused.  
Interesting.

‘What happened to them?’

Finneran didn't even let them finish, interrupting them as she raised her hand in a forceful manner.  
“You are hereby suspended immediately!”

The silence that followed that sentence surprised Croix. No back talk? No shocked reaction? Not even begging to keep their employment?  
Just an unsettling, eerie acceptance...

“Now, get out of my sight!”, the vice principal spoke through gritted teeth, “I have to organize a rescue squad.”

‘Rescue squad?’

The two, now seemingly fired, teachers, reacted instantly, running out of the door, leaving a sighing vice principal behind, who pinched the bridge of her nose, restlessly.

“Finneran-Sensei?”, Croix asked carefully, “What happened?”

Startled the Professor stared at her. It seemed as if she had forgotten that the lavender-haired witch was still present in the room.

“Croix...”  
She appeared to be in thoughts, pondering, until her eyes focused once more.  
“You are the best witch of your time, the only one who is able to overcome any obstacles in her way. You have proven yourself over and over again and exceeded all expectations we had for you. Croix Meridies, now in our time of need, will you support your school, which helped to shape you into the person you are today?”

‘Is this going somewhere, or...?’

Mildly irritated Croix nodded her head, if only because she was curious about what had rattled the vice principal in the first place, trying not to roll her eyes at the older witch as she continued, eyes gleaming with approval:

“I knew I could rely on you, but be aware that this is highly classified information, which can under no circumstances leave this room, understood?”

Croix nodded again, suppressing an exasperate sigh.

The Professor inclined her head, lowering her voice, almost whispering:

“The Leyline that run through our contest area collapsed!”

‘The Leyline...collapsed?!’

“Due to some interference, the sorcerer's stone is highly unbalanced right now...”

Chariot was at the contest area.

“So using magic to help the students who were participating or attending is out of the question...”

But Chariot could just connect to another Leyline, she was definitely safe.

“Furthermore we have lost all means to contact them...”

Chariot surely wouldn't do something risky...right?

“Our substitute teachers immediately fled the scene, so there appears to be no adult supervision for the time being...”

She wouldn't try to attempt a ridiculous rescue mission, there was no way-

‘She totally would!’

Croix broke into a run.  
Not listening to the outrageous cry that followed her departure, she practically raced to her room, grabbing the prototype of her enhanced broom and threw herself into the air, trying not to panic, as the words: ‘Connection Failure’, flashed in bright red letters on the small pad, located at the handle. She narrowed her eyes, as she plummeted towards the ground.  
She didn't have time for this!

‘Come on!’

She tried to reconfigure the connection settings, linking it to, what she hoped, a functioning Leyline, instead of the unresponsive sorcerer's stone. Eyes flitting from the screen, which read: ‘Searching...’, to the hard, solid ground, which came increasingly closer. Croix held her breath, her whole body rigid.  
A surge of relief washed over her as the words: 'Connection Established', appeared on the pad, jolting the broom to a sudden stop, hovering only a few centimeters over the ground.  
Letting out a soft sigh, she gripped the handle of her broom, pulling it upwards to gain more height.  
Looking around she discovered another problem, she didn't think of before.

‘Where exactly is the contest area?’

She had no Idea.  
There didn't exist some kind of Leyline Map, because it was deemed unnecessary, as one couldn't fly, if not in close range to a Leyline to begin with. And they had their fixed routes where witches traveled along, but that was it. Just like getting on a bus or a train, you knew where to jump off, but you wouldn't find your way there without it.

‘I am definitely drawing a map, after I find Chariot...  
If I find her...’

Scouting her surroundings again Croix's face fell. Where should she go? She needed to move, she needed to get to Chariot before she did something stupid. But aside from a small crow being hunted by a peregrine falcon she didn't spot anything worthwhile...

‘Wait!’

That was it!  
The crow could help her.  
She knew she was grasping at straws here, but she was desperate.  
Turning her broom around, she raced towards the two birds, drawing her wand. Magic might have been out of order for the moment but...  
As she zoomed past them she swung it around and knocked the falcon away, using his disoriented state to snatch the little crow from his grasp, speeding away.  
The falcon didn't seem to follow her.  
As she slowed down again she released the crow. It really seemed to be rather young…  
Oh well...she had no other options left.

“I want you to help me find someone”, she said gently, hoping the bird would understand her, “I think my friend might be in danger. Her name is Chariot.”

(Chariot?)

Croix raised her eyebrows, slightly impressed.

‘So it knows how to establish a connection to witches already.’

She mustered her new companion a bit more. He appeared to have white feathering and on his stomach was a yellow four-pointed star. It reminded her of something she had seen before, the day she and Chariot had become friends...the stars in her eyes...

‘How interesting.’

(Chariot?)

Right, Chariot.  
She didn't have time to analyze the bird. She had to find the redhead.

“Yes, Chariot”, she said urgently, “she has red hair, like fire, can you help me find her?”

The crow cocked his head to the side and flew off.

(Follow)

“You want me to follow you?”

(Follow...Chariot)

Croix shrugged. It was better than staying in one place the whole time. Listening to the bird seemed to be her best bet.

“Alright, lead the way.”

###### 

Her new companion guided her through a deep forest, at a ridiculously fast pace, not that she complained, just...a flying contest in the woods?  
That sounded ludicrous. Even their teachers wouldn't sink that low, would they?

“Are you sure, we are on the right track?”, she asked the crow nervously.

(Chariot...ahead...)

Just as it said that, her broom connected her to a new magic source, beeping loudly. Croix's heart skipped in terror. There shouldn't be any magic here, the Leyline died, so why...

‘Please let me be wrong!’

A horrible feeling emerged in the pit of her stomach, urging her on. She pressed past another couple of trees, never slowing down until she reached... a clearing...

Then she heard the screams. Letting her gaze wander, she saw pure chaos.  
Students on the shaky stand were running around, almost trampling each other. Others hang on some branches, holding on for dear life, not getting any help from their schoolmates. Bodies lying on the ground...some of them dangerously still.  
Her eyes scanned the crowd, searching for the familial red hair, flitting from one face to another, growing more and more restless with each passing second.

(Above)

Croix looked up...and immediately wished she didn't.  
There on her broom sat Chariot, the Claiomh Solais raised over her head, gripped tightly, a pulsing mix of green and red light coming from her, withering in pain, a tortured expression on her face.  
A ripple went through the area...  
And then the light dimmed down and Chariot...was falling!  
The older witch wasn't sure if she had ever screamed as loud as in that exact moment.

**“CHARIOT!”**

Absolute terror coursed through her as she raced towards the falling redhead. The crow flew alongside her, trying to stabilize her stuttering broom, as it lost its magical connection once again, but she couldn't care less about that. With the last of its remaining energy she crashed into Chariot, holding onto her as they tumbled to the ground.

‘That was close!’

Ignoring the biting pain shooting through her back, she stood right up again, towering over the unresponsive redhead, who still clung to the Claiomh Solais. Gritting her teeth she knelt down and grabbed the rod, pulling it out of her friend's deadly grip. Croix felt as if she was burning alive. Everything inside her screamed at her to let go of that accursed thing, but Chariot was still withering around. She had to get her away from it, even if it hurt her.  
Finally it seemed as if the younger witch relented. Her hold relaxed slightly, giving Croix the opportunity to rip it from her, as she cast it aside, cradling Chariot in her arms.

“I've got you, Chariot!  
You are safe now...”

###### 2018

Diana was petrified, what should she do?

‘Don't panic, think!’

It didn't seem like Croix had spotted her. Maybe the darkness clouded her vision more than the blonde had originally thought. Slowly, trying not to draw more attention to herself, she dimmed the bright screen in her hands, placing it back on the chair, not daring to make a sound.  
Ducking behind Ursula's bed, she squinted through the room.  
Where did the tech witch go?

[Hide!]

She didn't have time to ponder where that sudden yell came from, she acted, dropping to the ground immediately, rolling under the bed, landing on her back, her hands pressed over her mouth and nose, muting her breathing.  
Not a second too early.  
The next thing Diana saw, as she turned her head slightly to the side, were a pair of boots, standing right next to her.

“You really have a knack for getting into those situations, haven't you, Chariot?”

‘Chariot!’

So her guess was correct after all.  
Not that this realization mattered much at the moment.  
Why did she even hide?  
Croix was her teacher. Surely she wouldn't be able to do anything to her, if she confronted her right now. She was Diana Cavendish. If she were to disappear, it would directly start an investigation and for all she knew, that probably wasn't something the ‘Professor’ wanted at the moment.  
So...

‘Maybe I should-’

[Don't!]

‘What?’

Diana blinked.  
That voice again.  
It was familiar somehow, didn't it sound extremely similar to...

‘Ursula-Sensei?’

But instead of the blue-haired teacher, she heard the tech witch speak again:

“It's so like you to meddle, to try and protect everyone. In that regard you haven't changed at all, always playing the martyr.”

She let out a raspy laugh.

“But this time I have to thank you for that. You gave me exactly what I needed. I was stuck for a while, searching for alternatives and you gave me the solution.”

As Croix continued, a hint of longing crept into her voice.

“You always inspire me, Chariot.”

A soft whimper could be heard from above, followed by some kind of...humming?  
Diana couldn't be sure.

‘What is she doing?’

The raspy laugh returned, a gentle note to it.

“Fine, fine”, Croix sighed...playfully?  
"I'll slow the transmission rate down a bit. That should ease your discomfort for a while. I waited ten long years...I can wait a few more days, I'm a patient person.”

She chuckled at that.

“Just remember”, she almost whispered, causing Diana’s hair to stand on end.

“You can't stop me!”

 

Diana wasn't sure how she got back to her room, or if she even got some sleep in the end. Sitting at the cafeteria, eating breakfast at the crack of dawn, she was lost in thoughts.  
She had waited until Croix finally left the room, which had felt like an eternity, and slowly crawled out from under the bed, gazing at the blue-haired witch. Ursula had seemed more peaceful all of a sudden, her breathing soft and steady, as if she was just asleep. After that, the blonde faintly recalled sneaking out of the infirmary and wandering back to her dormitory.

‘What a crazy night.’

She sighed.  
If she didn't think Croix was suspicious back then, she definitely was convinced of it now.  
Just what had the eccentric witch planned?  
How did it relate to Ursula's, or better, Chariot's surprising accident?  
What was 'Chronosphere'?

‘Chronos...’

Wasn't that the name of the god of time in ancient Greece?  
Why would a ‘modern’ witch like Croix name something after him?  
The god of time...

[Dreams!]

Diana's eyes widened.  
There it was again.  
That familiar voice that had warned her earlier.  
Just what was going…  
Dreams?!  
Of course, her dreams!  
Those were she could see parts of…  
What were they about again?  
She couldn't even recall most of the things she saw, just little snippets, quick flashes and…Chariot?  
Right, wasn’t it because of this that she knew about Croix’s and the redhead’s relationship in the first place?

‘Am I dreaming of the past?’

What a ridiculous question.

‘They are just dreams!’

The Cavendish groaned.  
What a preposterous Idea. Dreaming of the past. How would that even work?  
No, her dreams were just that, dreams. A bit jumbled, but still largely irrelevant.  
Browsing through her bag full of books, she searched for the one she had purchased two days ago. A special order only sanctioned because of her status at the school. At the very least nobody had dared to ask her what she wanted with it. It was probably the thinnest book she ever possessed, not only that, but it also came in a bright, red cover, which she specifically ordered herself, still...  
It looked oddly out of place with her.

‘I still wasn't able to give it to her.’

She placed the thin book on the table and stared at it, narrowing her eyes.  
How was she supposed to concentrate on Croix, when everything led her back to her relationship with Akko. The brunette was by now surely aware of Ursula's condition, possibly even of her own involvement. How could she explain what happened without revealing the professor's secret?  
Maybe she should just avoid the energetic witch.

‘Knowing Akko she would find me anyway.’

That thought made her smile softly.  
Akko always had a knack of tracking her down.

‘But so do I.’

She knew where to find her. Most of the time it wasn't even conscious. As if something was drawing them together...  
Even if the brunette was frustrating her, angering her, hurting her without meaning to, they circled around each other. Seeing her with her friends, smiling, laughing and getting into trouble, the way everyone seemed to gravitate to her...

‘Why do you never smile at me like that?’

No!  
She was distracted again, thinking about such unnecessary things. She ought to focus. She needed to get to the bottom of this. If the tech witch was scheming, she had to be prepared, before Akko got involved. She couldn't let that happen. She might not be the witch her mother had envisioned her to be, but she would make sure that magic was restored to the world.  
Diana wouldn't let Akko fail.

‘I won't let anyone hurt her!’

She didn't have time to be a teenager.

“Diana?”

The blonde flinched. Trying to cover it up with an over exaggerated gesture of standing up, she flipped her long hair and turned to the owner of the voice.

“Akko”, she greeted the brunette indifferently, not betraying how nervous she actually felt.  
Of course the brunette would appear when Diana just finished thinking of her.

“Can I help you with something?”

She could have slapped herself.  
No, how are you or a word of condolence?  
Where were her manners?

Akko didn't seem upbeat to begin with, a frown upon her face and slight bangs under her eyes.

‘So I am not the only one who didn't get some sleep.’

Which was totally relatable, giving that her mentor was...out of commission at the moment.

“They say you were there.”

Her voice sounded tired and had a light scratch to it. Her eyes were red and puffy.  
She must have cried quite a lot...unlike herself.

‘I can't break down!’

Diana cleared her throat, keeping her face in a neutral mask.

“That is correct.”

“Then tell me what happened.”

Sighing, the blonde crossed her arms.  
“I can't say-”

“No!”, said Akko angrily, cutting her off, “I deserve to know, she is my mentor!”

Raising her hands in a placating way, although slightly irritated, Diana spoke again:  
“As I was saying, before you so rudely interrupted me, I actually have no Idea what happened.”

“What?”

“Yes, it was quite puzzling. One moment we were talking, then everything flashed red and the next thing I saw was her laying on the ground...  
I really don't know how it came to that.”

She couldn't very well tell her, that she provoked the older witch on purpose, saying those things to her, just because she wanted to prove that Ursula was indeed Chariot.

“What were you two talking about?”  
Akko's tone became increasingly unfriendly, pinning the Cavendish with glare that could only be described as deadly.

‘Something is wrong.’

That began to sound more and more like a cross examination and Diana didn't like it. Why was the brunette so openly hostile towards her?  
“That doesn't concern you, it is a private matter.”

“Do you even care?”

That question threw her off. Was she insinuating...?  
“Wha-”

“Do you even care that Ursula-Sensei is hurt? Or is it just interfering with your schedule, a bothersome complication?”  
Akko's voice seemed to grew louder with every word she said, balling her hands to fists, looking at her with so much fury in her eyes, that it made her shudder inwardly.

‘Will you stop cutting me off!’

She wasn't going to stand here and let herself being insulted. Hopefully this wouldn't turn out to be another shouting match between them.  
“You are acting like a child, again.”

“Better acting like a child, than acting like you, the great Diana Cavendish, who is so above us all-”

‘Is that how you see me?’

For some reason that thought made her falter.  
Did she really think that?

“Don't presume to know what I am feeling”, Diana's voice cracked slightly.  
Why did Akko have to be so complicated?  
“I was with Ursula-Sensei when it happened, I was terrified.”

Trying to get her emotions under control again, she breathed in deeply, pausing for a moment.  
After composing herself, she continued with a surprisingly strong tone:

“But what good does it do for me to break down? It won't get her back to health any faster. Instead I am focusing my strength on finding the seven words of Arcturus and so should you!”

An uncomfortable silence stretched between the two of them, until Akko asked in a much softer voice, than before:

“You know about the words?”

The blonde nodded her head. Maybe it wouldn't evolve into shouting match after all.  
“I conducted my own research and read about them. I wrote down everything I could find for you.”

“You...want to help me?”, the brunette stammered, her eyes widening in surprise.

‘Is that so out of character for me?’

“Really Akko, what did I ever do to you, to earn this dislike you have for me?”

Sighing again, this time defeated, she grabbed the red book from the table and handed it to the other witch.

“Here”, she said, looking at anything but Akko's face, “it was meant as a peace offering, but maybe you need it to remind yourself what made you attend Luna Nova in the first place.”

Still not looking at the brunette, the only reaction she got was a gasp.  
“That's...Shiny Chariot!”

Somehow the atmosphere changed, became lighter, as if whatever had a hold on them before just disappeared.  
“It is everything I could find on her...I thought you would like it.”

Diana glanced at Akko out of the corner of her eyes and what she saw...was simply baffling. The brunette's whole face had brightened up, a big smile on her face, as she stared at her with unadulterated wonder.

“Like it? I love it! Thank you Diana!”, she practically squealed, skipping towards the blonde and forcing her in one of her infamous hugs...  
As if the last few minutes had not happened at all.

‘Just what is going on here?’

“It was nothing”, Diana said, somewhat enjoying the close contact with the brunette.  
When was the last time someone had hugged her?

‘That is not important, right now!’

Pulling away slightly, to look at her, Akko's face fell again.  
“No really...thank you. I...I was wrong about you...I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you.”

That wasn't what Diana was after, she didn't need an apology...well it was nice to get one anyway, but having the other witch in high spirits again, was enough for her.  
“Oh? You don't need to trouble yourself with-”

“I'll definitely make it up to you”, the brunette interrupted her, yet again, with a determinate grin, letting go of the other witch, “just watch me.”

Diana remembered the last time Akko had told her the exact same phrase. There was no stopping her, not that she wanted to.  
Feeling her eyes soften ever so slightly, she inclined her head.

“If you insist.”

###### July 2006

It had been a week. A week and Chariot still hadn't woken up. The teachers were absolutely clueless. No one knew how to cure the redhead. But she had done everything she could. She had grabbed the younger witch and practically skipped back to the school, tuning out the outraged cries and the pleading for help from the other students. If she had to choose between them and Chariot, the redhead would always win.  
The diagnosis Professor Lukic gave them was: 'Sensorial Overload', which she guessed already, plunging the rest of the teaching staff in a confused state of disbelief, finally realizing what a rare talent Chariot possessed. A little too late.  
At first they all figured she would wake up on her own, as they deemed her almost comatose state as ‘just being burned out’, but after a few days they had grown increasingly worried.

‘As they should!’

Now, after a whole week, Croix couldn't bear it anymore. Seeing Chariot like that, whimpering in pain, fighting against a high fever, sometimes even trashing around wildly, screaming for ‘it’ to stop, was too much for the lavender-haired witch. On the evening of the seventh day she decided to visit Professor Woodward, the little crow, who hadn't left her side since, accompanied her. She didn't know how, but the bird gave her a little hope. It even tried to cheer her up. His similarities to Chariot were really comforting.  
If only she could help her.  
Woodward would know what to do.  
She would help them, Croix was sure of it...

Until she wasn't.  
Standing before the blue moon spirit, the crow on her shoulder, Croix's eyes went wide, as the shock from the unexpected answer rendered her completely speechless for a moment.

“What do you mean, you will do nothing?”, she yelled at her, holding back the urge to break down in tears.

The sympathetic look in Woodward's eyes enraged the young witch. She didn't need pity! She needed a way to help Chariot.

‘Why is no one doing something?’

“Little Croix”, the old witch said, “it is not my place to interfere. If she is worthy to revive the next word, she will overcome this sickness.”

How could she say that? Chariot was worth more than some stupid words. Why was that even happening? How could a Leyline just up and die?

‘Wait!’

Croix felt as if someone had just punched her in the stomach, her hands were sweating, a nauseating taste in her mouth.

‘If she is worthy...’

It couldn't be...  
She wouldn't...

“This...this”, she stammered, her breathing stuttering slightly.

“This was a test?!”

“The last word is near, but the fifth and sixth are still missing”, Woodward replied vaguely, “I needed to prepare Chariot for her greatest task.”

“By letting her sacrifice herself for these ungrateful people?”, Croix all but screamed.

‘How could she?’

“To verify the strength of her heart.”

She buried her face in her hands, shaking her head rapidly.

“Why would you do this to her? She almost died!”

“It was as much a test for her as it was for you”, Woodward said calmly, gentle even,  
“And you failed, little Croix, you failed to tamper your emotions, thinking only of yourself.”

Anger spiked through the younger witch. Raising her head slightly, she balled her hands.

“I was thinking of Chariot!”, she corrected the blue moon spirit harshly.

“You believe that to be different?”  
The question didn't sound like it harbored malicious intent, but it made her hair stand on end.  
Staring at the ground, her eyes unfocused she drawled in a monotone voice:

“So, I failed, because I love Chariot.”

“You failed, because your morals are inverted, you are blinded by your ambitions.”

‘...what?’

Something inside of her slammed shut, shattered beyond repair and she began to laugh, throwing her head back, looking at the concerned Woodward in amusement.

“So”, she said eventually, after calming down a bit, ”you and I are exactly the same.”

She didn't wait for an answer. She just turned around, walking away, the little crow following behind her.

“Croix”, Woodward called after her and something in her voice made her pause, something soft, but dangerous, “you are not allowed to interfere!”

Taking off her glasses, tossing them to the ground, Croix looked over her shoulder defiantly.

“Just watch me!”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the delay, but I'm ill, that apparently makes writing so much more complicated.  
> Also the reason why this chapter is much shorter, than the last one,  
> on the other hand, episode 21 was great, I want more Tiny Chariot^^  
> I thank all of you, who are still reading this story  
> Enjoy^^

###### 2018

“Akko, are you even listening to us?”

‘Huh?’

Akko looked up from her book with a dumbfounded expression on her face. Since Diana had gifted it to her she was reading nonstop, trying to get as many clues on Chariot and her whereabouts as possible. Right now, she appeared to be stuck on something…maybe the blonde could explain the meaning of those words to her. If someone knew it, it was her.  
She really had to do something special for her. She had acted so horrible towards her.

‘Why though?’

It wasn’t a secret that her and Diana weren’t exactly friends and she constantly frustrated the brunette with her mannerism, but why would she insinuate something so cruel, like not caring about on of their teachers? If they had something in common, it was the love they shared for Luna Nova after all…so why?

‘Why was I always angry at her?’

Sometimes that anger had come out of nowhere. She just had to lay eyes on the Cavendish and she was mad enough to throw her reasoning away. But that seemed to have stopped, as soon as Diana had given her the book about Chariot. The way the blonde had looked in that moment had struck a core in Akko, so tired and defeated…  
The way she had stiffened when the brunette had hugged her…

‘When was the last time someone did that to you?’

Trying to picture the standoffish Diana, going around, hugging everyone, made her smile.

‘I want to see you smile at me too…’

What?  
Where did that thought come from?  
Akko felt her face flushing slightly. Just because her and Diana were somewhat getting along now, didn’t mean she wasn’t still a brooding traditionalist. She was her rival after all.

“AKKO!”

“Whah!”

The brunette almost fell from the bench she was sitting on.   
Lotte and Sucy were apparently done waiting for a response from their friend, so the kind bookworm had leaned towards her and screamed in her ear.

“What?”, Akko asked, pouting, caressing her ear with her hand.

Sucy snickered.

“She so wasn’t listening.”

“Sorry”, the energetic witch said with a sheepish grin, “what did you say again?”

“She is hopeless.”

“Sucy”, whined the brunette loudly.

Lotte sighed.

“I just asked, if your talk with Diana went well.”

“Yes…”, Akko paused for a moment, recalling yesterday’s events, “I think it really did.”  
She paused again, then adding quietly: “She was actually pretty understanding.”

But apparently not quiet enough, because Sucy stared at her curiously.

“You, praising Diana?”, she asked intrigued, “Surely the world is ending.”

“Ha Ha”, muttered Akko under her breath.

“Anyway”, Lotte chimed in, trying to change the subject, seemingly not liking where the conversation was heading, “what are you reading so intensely, Akko? More research on the words?”

The brunette’s face brightened up immediately.

“It’s a book Diana gave me as a present”, she practically squealed, “and guess what, it’s about Shiny Chariot!”

“Ah”, drawled Sucy, “that makes more sense.”

‘No, you’ve got it all wrong!’

Her sudden mood swing didn’t seem to escape Lotte, as she raised her hands in a placating way.

“That’s awfully nice of Diana”, she said with a soft smile, “especially, since it must have been hard to come by.”

‘Hard to come by?’

“How so?”, asked the brunette puzzled.

“Because”, Sucy deadpanned, “as we tell you the whole time, Shiny Chariot is not-”

“They are limited”, interrupted Lotte hastily, “just like your cards.”

‘Is not what?’

Akko didn’t get it. Just what was wrong with her and Sucy today? Her friend just seemed to love to aggravate her for some reason. Not that she wasn’t used to her special kind of humor, maybe her own skin had gotten too thin or something like that, but it was kind of nerve wracking.   
Trying to ignore the sinking feeling she got, when she thought about the mushroom loving witch, she focused on Lotte instead.

“That’s amazing!”, she said loudly, with forced cheerfulness.

The bookworm either didn’t seem to notice it, or played along to diffuse the awkward atmosphere. Speaking of books, maybe Lotte, as a die hard fan oft he ‘Night Fall’ series, would know about her mystery words…they sounded fictional enough to her ears.

‘I’ll just ask.’

“Say Lotte, did you ever hear about something called ‘Sensorial Overload’?”

Both of her friends blinked at her in apparent confusion.

‘That’s a no then, right?’

“Sensorial Overload?”, sounded a voice from the side.

Professor Croix had apparently finished her lessons for the day and seemed to be on her way home, to the New Moon tower, a small tablet in her hands, as she walked along the path leading to them.  
A bright grin spread over Akko’s face. Jumping from the bench she ran to the tech witch.

“Croix-Sensei”, she greeted her with a beaming smile, “do you know what that is?”

Returning the smile, the Professor raised her head slightly, appearing to be in thoughts.

“Maybe”, she drawled finally, her smile widening, as her eyes gleamed with amusement.  
Did Akko just imagine it, or did Croix grimace for a moment?

‘How odd.’

Why should she though?   
She was probably still tired.

“Why the sudden interest?”

There it was again…  
The brunette shook her head to clear her mind. Wordlessly she pointed at the book in her hand and handed it to the Professor.  
Skimming the bookmarked page, the bemused expression on the teacher’s face morphed into one of shock.

“Who gave this to you?”, she asked curiously, a slight edge to her tone.

‘Is something wrong?’

Akko opened her mouth to answer her, but couldn’t bring herself to utter the blonde’s name.

‘I have a bad feeling about this.’

“Diana gave it to her”, Sucy chimed in, coming to a halt next to the brunette.

Akko turned towards her irritated.

“Sucy!”

“What?”, the mushroom loving witch asked bored, “Was that supposed to be a secret?”

Lotte, who also came trotting to her side, sighed and shook her head, not getting what was going on.  
The brunette slumped down slightly.

“No, but…”

‘I don’t want to cause trouble for Diana.’

As if she was reading her mind, Croix’s posture relaxed and her positive exterior returned…although her eyes were a bit more hooded than usual.

“The Cavendish girl?”, she pondered, a hint of anger in her voice. She stared at Akko, an unfathomable expression on her face.

‘What’s going on?’

“Don’t worry Akko”, she continued, waving her hand lightly, sounding cheerful again, “I’m not going to reprimand you or Diana because you read a book about Chariot.”

The brunette really wanted to believe her…but something was missing…

‘Why are you acting like this Croix-Sensei?’

The tech witch seemed oblivious to her inner turmoil.

“You have to excuse my weird behavior. This book made me recall something rather unpleasant…but back to your question.”

She cleared her throat, before launching into an explanation.

“Sensorial Overload is an affliction, caused by an enormous amount of ramped energy, centered on one being. It is sending them into a shock like state, disabling the use of their base functions, such as speaking and moving. Even thinking can be quite a challenge. They are, for all intents and puposes, trapped. And to make matters worse, it also robs them of the ability to disconnect from the source that is causing all this…  
In the end it is a vicious circle, draining the individuals own energy supply to sustain itself…until one of them dies.”

‘What?’

Akko was speechless. She had thought it was another gift her Idol possessed, not some crazy sounding, lethal illness.

‘Wait!’

The brunette scrunched up her face.   
Something didn’t add up.

“If that ‘Sensorial Overload’ is so threatening”, she began slowly, pinching the bridge of her nose nervously, “then why didn’t we already learn about it in class, you know, to prevent it from happening, or something like that?”

Croix laughed at that.  
A cold, humorless laugh that made her hair stand on end and send a shudder down her spine. Letting her gaze flicker to Sucy and Lotte, she concluded that she wasn’t the only one being slightly terrified right now…  
Just what had the Professor so rattled?

‘Did she know someone who had this illness?’

Because she didn’t seem to like to talk about it very much. Probably forcing herself for Akko’s sake.  
Thinking about Professor Ursula, Akko’s mood fell slightly.

‘I know how you feel Sensei.’

When she quieted down again, the teacher sighed, a hint of sadness in her eyes.

“It is not really a common illness anymore”, she explained in a dull voice, “So it is only a possible affliction for those few witches, who are still able to connect to every magical source in the world. Those, who can wield magic everywhere…  
Today we call them, witches with a ‘natural sense for magic’.”

Akko pondered that for a moment.  
A natural sense for magic?  
Didn’t Finneran use that phrase before, when she asked about Croix and Chariot being rivals?  
Natural sense for magic…  
Natural sense for magic…  
Wait!

‘Just like-’

“Chariot?!”, she gasped, eyes widening comically.

“Exactly”, Croix agreed, the warmth, which was absent before, finally returning to her tone, as she smiled softly.  
Then that meant…

‘Chariot got sick!’

She felt herself getting numb. It was as if someone had just poured ice cold water over her.  
But surely someone had healed her…  
Of course someone had healed her, she grew up to be Shiny Chariot after all. The question was…who?

‘I have to thank them too!’

Whoever it was, they saved her hero from something that could have killed her.

“Croix-Sensei”, she asked, her voice shaking slightly, “do you know who-”

“Pardon the intrusion”, interrupted someone their conversation, “but the principal send me to collect Croix-Sensei. There is another meeting in the principal’s office regarding Ursula-Sensei.”

Akko’s heart skipped a beat. A weird feeling of peace washed over her, calming her down. A soft smile spread over her face, as she locked eyes with the blonde witch, who stood behind Croix.

“Diana.”

###### July 2006

Croix was already done searching for her equipment. After she came back, she immediately went to her room, browsing through her things, pulling out some contact lenses. She had wanted to ask Chariot for quite some time, if she should get rid of her glasses. If she maybe looked ‘cooler’ without them…not that it mattered anymore.

‘I will never forgive you!’

Woodward would see what she got, from her ‘testing’…   
Even if she herself wasn’t any better.   
At least she hadn’t almost killed someone. From what she heard, there even appeared to be a body count… five people didn’t make it.  
But surely, that was her fault as well, for only caring about Chariot’s safety.

‘The nerve of her.’

She was done with her and her dangerous tasks to revive the words. Restoring magic to the world? For those incompetent teachers, who weren’t even there for their student’s most of the time, getting bested by a stupid, greedy dragon? For those ignorant people, who were only thinking about themselves? What would they do once they got the gift of magic back?

‘Fight.’

Humans always fought…  
And witches like Chariot were the collateral damage.

‘I won’t allow it!’

The redhead and her would need to make a selection. Not everyone should be included to wield such power. They could keep the ‘World Reconstruction’ magic to themselves. At least as long as it would take for the rest of mankind to change their ways…or until her inventions would work properly.  
Chariot would understand that too.

‘I am doing this for you!’

Chariot would understand her, she always did. She supported her like no one ever had, inspiring her to be more daring, asking more questions, breaking from outdated notions.  
That’s why she loved her so much.

‘When she wakes up, I am definitely telling her.’

They always used other words, like, liking or caring, calling themselves friends, but they were so much more than that. And she refused to hide it any longer.  
Packing her things, shouldering her laptop and balancing a prototype of her magic output system, she really hadn’t thought of a better name yet, in her hands, she wandered back to the infirmary, where the restless redhead resided.   
The little crow had one of her electrodes in its beak. It was heartwarming to see. Croix wouldn’t know what she would do without him. He kept her sane most of the time, nesting on her head, cooing nonsensical noises to her.  
When they reached the infirmary no one was there, which angered the lavender haired witch even more. Not that she complained right now, because a teacher would surely try to deter her from her objective, but the sheer nerve in leaving one of their students, who was obviously in pain, alone for the night was infuriating. She felt a slight satisfaction at the fact, that she had told Finneran, that she wasn’t able to read the dragon scrolls, but that they should probably pay the debt anyway.

‘Serves them right!’

A grunted noise coming from the redhead ripped her from her thoughts. Kicking against the blanket, she apparently tried to fight against an imaginary foe, letting out a terrified shriek.  
A pang of sadness washed over Croix. It hurt to see her friend like this. With newfound determination she set up her equipment and started the program.  
First she needed to create an artificial Leyline, of sorts, that was stable enough to generate a good amount of magic. This shouldn’t be a problem though. The sorcerer’s stone had given her plenty of excess energy for the last few days.The magitronics should be enough to function as a basis.  
A loud beeping and a flashing green light told her that her system was ready.  
…now to connect Chariot to it…  
She took the electrodes from the little crow, placing one on each side of Chariot’s head, having to hold her still with all her might, as she fought to get the third placed right over her heart.  
Once she was done, she opened her laptop, connecting the electrodes to the output system.

“Alright”, she told the bird on her shoulder, “let’s see if this works.”

The crow cooed in approval.  
Croix started the process. The machine flashed brightly, a buzzing filled the room…  
It was also the exact moment that Chariot began to scream.

The lavender haired witch was paralyzed.

‘Nonononono’

What had she done wrong?   
A red ‘Error’ appeared on her screen, followed by a string of numbers, telling her how there were two energy sources overlapping each other.  
So Chariot was still connected to a Leyline…and this Leyline wouldn’t let her go…  
What should she do?

‘Don’t interfere…’

Forget it!   
She would not let Chariot fight on her own, if it meant she would surely die.

(Chariot?)

Croix looked startled to the crow on her shoulder.

“What do you mean?”, she asked, trying to relax her tense muscles. The bird had already helped her more than any teacher ever had.

(Finding…Chariot…me?)

“You want to find Chariot for me?”

The little crow cooed in agreement, hopping from Croix’s shoulder onto the redhead’s head.  
The lavender haired witch didn’t know why, but the bird and her sleeping friend had a connection, if there was someone who wanted Chariot to wake up as bad as her, it was him.  
Mulling it over, she nodded her consent. That seemed to be their only chance.

“First you have to link yourself to my generated energy source”, she explained to him.

She turned back to her laptop and started the system again.  
The buzzing noise filled the room once more and the green light switched on.  
The crow spread its wings, the star on his stomach glowing softly in a golden tone.

‘Connection established!’

Those were the words that popped up on her screen, letting Croix breathe out relieved.

“So far so good, right?”, she asked, her voice sounding kind of shaky, but she still flashed him a crooked smile, “Now try to find Chariot. If you feel her magic signature, pull her away from the Leyline. That should force her to either connect to you or my output system.”

She laughed raspy, wringing her hands together in a nervous manner.

“If this works, I am getting myself a new haircut”, she muttered tiredly, massaging her neck gently.

The crow glowed even brighter.   
Chariot’s face was scrunched up, sweat pearling down her chin. The trashing had stopped abruptly, but she still seemed to be in pain.   
A faint ripple went through the room and everything went deadly silent.  
Only the quiet buzzing of her machine could be heard. The crow lost its glowing and dropped on Chariot’s chest, totally exhausted. And the redhead…

‘Thank god!’

The redhead appeared to be sleeping soundly, her whole posture relaxed, a soft smile on her face.  
Croix’s vision blurred all of the sudden. Confused she raised her hand, feeling tears rolling down her cheeks. Staggering forward, she sat down on Chariot’s bed, her head resting on the younger witch’s stomach, finally breaking down.

“Chariot”, she cried helplessly.

She didn’t even know why. Chariot should be safe now, but…

“Chariot, don’t ever do this to me again…  
Please wake up…  
I love you…”

As she was crying, like she never had before in her life, she felt a warm hand patting her head softly.

“I love you too Croix.”

###### 2018

“Diana”, said Akko, sounding immensely relieved somehow.

Alarm bells rang in the blonde’s head.  
Why would the brunette be relieved she came by?  
Letting her gaze wander over the group she interrupted she shrugged. Focusing on Professor Croix, she gave her a pointed look.

“Well? We should be on our way”, the Cavendish said coolly, crossing her arms, “I am not sure how much longer Finneran-Sensei will wait for us.”

The way Akko hung her head tugged on Diana’s heartstrings. She didn’t know what they were talking about, but it had apparently upset her.

‘Maybe I should include her.’

In a way, wasn’t it also her place to be involved? Reaching a decision she nodded to her herself, opening her mouth to talk, only to be cut off by Croix.

“You are right”, she said with one of her over dimensional smiles, which made Diana feel like she was playing right into her hands, but she tried to ignore it.

“We shouldn’t let Finneran-Sensei wait, she is already mad enough at me as it is.”

A short, raspy laugh escaped her, turning away from Lotte, Sucy and Akko, as she waved at them.

“I’ll see you all for the evening classes.”

“Wait!”, Diana almost yelled, clearing her throat, looking at the sad little pile of misery, the brunette slowly seemed to become.

She extended her hand towards her, muttering barely audible: “Do you want to come with us?”

This was so mortifying.

‘Why am I doing this to myself?’

“Huh”, Akko said puzzled and her friends didn’t seem to fare any better. Even Croix stared at her with a cocked eyebrow.

“What did you just say?”

She could no longer look at the younger witch’s face. She could practically feel the smile that was slowly forming there. Glancing out of the corner of her eyes she saw the beaming expression thrown at her.

‘Her smile is truly beautiful…’

Concentrate Diana!

Feeling her ears flushing red, she let her hand sink slowly.

“I am not repeating myself, Akko”, she said evenly, “I just thought about what you told me yesterday and I agree with you. Ursula-Sensei is your mentor and as such you should be included.”

Akko rushed forward and grabbed her hand, before it was fully dropped, eyes flashing with unadulterated gratefulness.  
They both stilled at the contact, a strange feeling enveloping her.

‘What?’

[I’m lost, can you hear me?]

‘Who is this?’

[Everything hurts!]

‘Your name?’

[…Chariot…]

She ripped her hand back in shock, her breathing stuttering for a moment.   
Akko looked at her, a mix of confusion and hurt plainly seen on her face.

“Diana?”, she asked softly, stepping forward, inserting herself into Diana’s personal space, placing a hand on her forehead. 

The gesture brought the blonde out of her daze, as she calmed her nerves down.

“Are you feeling alright?”

The brunette seemed worried. It made Diana’s heart flutter slightly. Taking Akko’s hand in her’s again, she nodded, smiling gently.

“Yes”, she reaffirmed, “I am only a bit sleep deprived as of late, but nothing too bothersome.”

“You need to take better care of yourself”, pressed the brunette on.

“I assure you that-”

“As much as I hate to disrupt your lovers quarrel”, interrupted Croix, rolling her eyes at them, “but wasn’t there a meeting we were supposed to be at.”

Akko let go of her hand and turned to the Professor, laughing in embarrassement.

“You’re right Croix-Sensei”, she said cheerfully, “To the office we go!”

As she wandered off, the tech witch grinned at the blonde, as she turned around to follow her student.  
Diana could have throttled her. Whatever she was planning, she wouldn’t let her drag Akko into it. She balled her hands into fists, bade Sucy and Lotte, who were still absolutely baffled at what just happened, a farewell and walked after the two other witches.

As soon as they had opened the door, Finneran had chided them for being late.  
Looking at Akko she apparently tried to blame it solely on her.

“What are you even doing here?”, she asked the young witch rudely, pacing back and forth between the other witches. Holbrooke stared at all of them with a grave expression on her face.  
Diana stepped forward.

“I asked her to be here”, she explained, her chin raised high.

Sometimes having a great reputation had its perks.  
But Finneran only groaned quietly, holding her head in pain.  
Holbrooke gave Akko a look with something akin to pity.

“Let her stay”, she said to the vice principal tiredly, “Maybe it will help her process everything that happened.”

Professor Finneran sighed defeated, coming to a halt before the strange trio.

“As you wish“, she acknowledged the headmistress, letting her gaze rest on Croix.  
“As you are all aware, Ursula-Sensei is out of commission for three days already. We have no Idea what ails her and our capacities are limited. Every Professor has to take on more lessons to compensate for the fact that we are currently understaffed…

Everyone…except you Croix-Sensei.”

‘Wait!’

“That is why we want to ask you, with the utmost respect-”

‘They wouldn’t…’

“If we could leave Ursula-Sensei in your capable hands?”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, here we go, I wanted to post this sooner, but I got caught up in yesterday's episode spoilers...  
> You probably know, what I'm talking about. I'm heartbroken right now.  
> Thank you all for still reading the story, I appreciate it.  
> Enjoy^^

###### July 2006

Chariot didn't know where she was.  
Floating through an endless void, she saw nothing, she heard nothing...  
Everything was red.  
What should she do?  
What could she even do?  
No one beside her seemed to be here...  
She was alone...

“Chariot!”

A voice sounded loudly, ripping through the silence with such a force, that it made her head spin.  
Did she even she have one?  
She didn't seem to have control over her body at all...  
Feeling dizzy, she tried to follow the voice, stretching her senses, grasping for the faint, familiar magic signature...  
Only to be welcomed by a blinding pain.  
Chariot couldn't even pinpoint where it originated. It tore itself through her, as if she was being electrocuted. Hot and angry, keeping her trapped.

‘Make it stop!’

She wanted to scream, to trash around, to rid herself of this feeling, but...it wasn't possible.  
Withdrawing into herself again, the pain receded, leaving her drained and exhausted.

‘I just want to go home.’

The only question was…where was it to begin with?  
Not in France with her parents, who only cared about appearances...  
Not in Luna Nova with her nonexistent friends...  
Home was...

‘Croix’

She needed to get back to her. The worrywart was probably beside herself.  
Always thinking too much...  
Always causing her so much trouble...

A faint muttering spread through the void, rippling the surface, relieving some of the tension that resided there. The intensity of the red faded, slowly changing the scenery, revealing the silhouette of...someone.  
Another person was here?  
The presence drew nearer. Although still heavily shadowed, Chariot could make out a pair of piercing blue eyes, staring at her...or not.  
There appeared to be no focus behind their gaze, as if they were still somewhere else, far away. They walked silently, murmuring quietly to themselves, not acknowledging her. Hastily, she tried to say something, gaining the person's attention, but she couldn't. Panic began to bubble in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't talk...

‘I want to get out…’  
...  
Wait!’

She could still think. Maybe, if she tried really hard to connect to the presence, then...  
They could hear her.  
Losing herself in the strands of magic, she searched for them.  
Just like the last time, a horrible pain erupted inside her, not letting up, slamming forcefully against her. But...this was her only chance...  
She had to endure it.  
She didn't get the fourth word for nothing.

‘Mayenab Dysheebudo’

There!  
Alongside the crippling waves of hurt, that muddled her mind, she could feel it. The thin string of magic that linked the person to this place.  
Grabbing it with all her might, as to not pass out, when the pain threatened to fully overwhelm her senses, she thought as intensely as she could:

‘Help me!’

[What?]

Chariot paused for a second. It worked...  
But she couldn't afford to lose more time. She didn't know how long she could hold on without blacking out, feeling the magic pulling at her nerves, slicing them open.

‘I'm lost, can you hear me?’

[Who is this?]

A jolt of hot pain ripped through her.

‘Everything hurts!’

She hadn't meant to think this. It was becoming so hard to focus.

[Your name?]

Why were they so fixated on her name?  
She just needed help. Trying to concentrate once more she thought:

‘...Chariot...’

Only for the presence to abruptly vanish.  
It was, as if her strings were cut, the pain disappearing like nothing had happened. She was spent. Her head was pounding so much. Where did they go?

‘Please, come back.’

But no one answered her...  
She was alone again...  
Letting her gaze wander, she realized, that her body seemed no longer numb. Flexing her fingers and stretching her aching limbs, the redhead tried to move forward...  
Only to be yanked backwards.  
Looking at her arms and feet, her eyes widened. She appeared to be shackled. Faint red lines chaining her into nothingness, keeping her in place. Defeated Chariot tumbled down and sat on the ground, if that even existed here, curling up into a ball. Blinking violently, she tried to stop the tears that swam in her vision from escaping. She couldn't give up now...  
But without help, there was nothing she could do.  
Only wait.

She didn't know how long she was here already. Feeling more faint signatures running through the void, too far away to try to connect to them, made her frustrated. Not that she liked doing that in the first place. It always felt like an invasion of privacy to her. She only did it once with her parents when she was still a small child and they seemed to punish her for it ever since…  
That’s why she never connected to someone again, only skimming the surface…  
But now…?  
Why was no one coming for her?  
Didn't she matter to the school at all?  
Or was she already dead?  
No, that couldn't be it. If that were the case, it wouldn't hurt so much to be here.

‘Croix...’

Was she trying to safe her?  
Did she even know what happened to her?  
After all, she did disappear on Chariot without explanation.  
Leaving her alone...  
Resentment bubbled inside her.

‘Where were you when I really needed you?’

She knew that was unfair. Croix was probably doing everything she could to help her...  
But she couldn't stop to feel this way. If the older witch had come with her, she wouldn't be in this mess. She would have never allowed her to pull such a self sacrificing, and in her eyes now, stupid stunt.

‘But it was my own decision.’

And that somehow made it worse. She was angry, she was alone and she was so tired.  
Why hadn't the rod chosen someone else?  
She just wanted to make people smile, make them happy. She didn't sign up for the responsibility to restore magic to the world. That was Croix's dream.  
The look in her eyes when the Claiomh Solais appeared for Chariot instead of her was something the redhead would never forget. So much hatred...  
And the way Woodward had simply ignored her question...  
Come to think of it, had the old witch ever answered her that day?  
Why not her?

‘Yes, why not Croix?’

As soon as she thought this, she felt a slight pull. Raising her head, she saw a big string of green light, divided into three finer lines, which seemed to have latched onto her head and her chest.

‘What's going on?’

She was pulled again. The lines tensing, stretching, trying to take her with them. Chariot's eyes widened in panic. She was still chained to this place, if they tried to draw her away, then...  
The pull grew stronger. Chariot felt her body move, without her consent, taking her farther and farther from the void, until the shackles that bound her were stretched to the limit, jolting her to a sudden stop.  
What happened next was maybe the most painful thing she had ever endured.  
It felt like being torn apart. The strings and shackles clawing at her chest, trying to rip her heart out and no side seemed to relent. She struggled to stay conscious, gritting her teeth together, focusing on anything, but the pain that consumed her. Black dots clouded her vision, as she felt herself going numb, drifting away, her eyes closing, welcoming the nothingness.

‘I guess I failed after all...  
I'm sorry Croix...’

[You have to wake up!]

‘Huh?’

[Akko needs you!]

‘Akko?’

[I can't do this without you.]

‘What?’

[Please, Sensei, just open your eyes...]

Chariot blinked awake, the darkness disappearing. She laid on her back, staring into the void, once more. So she was still here...

[Who are you?]

Startled, the redhead sat up, supporting herself with her hands, as a wave of dizziness washed over her. She was getting more and more exhausted.

‘This place is killing me...’

[It is?]

Turning her head, Chariot saw a blonde haired girl, with piercing blue eyes, standing a few meters away from her. She had her arms crossed and a frown was plastered over her face. Apparently she was as thrilled to be here, as the redhead herself.  
It was the presence from before.

‘It's you.’

The girl seemed confused.

[What do you mean?]

Offering her a tired smile, the first one she ever gave in this place, she thought kindly:

‘You are the one who talked to me before.’

Grimacing slightly, still keeping her distance, the blonde mustered her skeptically.

[I wouldn't call this ‘talking’, wouldn't you agree?  
Besides, could you inform me about our whereabouts?  
I seem to be at a loss.]

Chariot shrugged awkwardly.

‘It's the next best thing, you know.’

Her smile faded, when she looked around again, her eyes darkening slightly.

‘Don't know, I call it ‘the void’, but I have honestly no Idea where we are.’

The girl's gaze grew suspicious. Uncrossing her arms she walked towards her, coming to a hold right before the redhead, her hands on her hips, fixing her with a glare.

[Who are you?]

Chariot hung her head, a bemused expression on her face. What was it with this girl? She reminded her of her roommate. Always making her feel small and unimportant, as if she was at fault here.

‘I told you already, it's Chariot.’

[That is hardly a possibility!]

The redhead had enough. She was tired and got repeatedly tortured by this place. Why did no one give her a break? Narrowing her eyes at the blonde, she thought hotly:

‘What do you want from me?  
I'm Chariot du Nord! I'm a first year student at Luna Nova and probably lucky if I get through the exams. I'm the infamous troublemaker no one wants to befriend and I fail at almost everything.  
Are you happy now?  
...  
I just want to get back to Croix...’

[Croix!]

She hadn't meant to think the last thought, but the reaction she got from the girl was...interesting, to say the least. A mix of shock and surprise.

‘Do you know her?’

[No.]

The blonde schooled her features again, but seemed to have lost her animosity towards the redhead.  
That didn't mean, Chariot was fooled by that obvious lie.

[But if you want to get back to her so badly, why are you still here?]

She rolled her eyes, slightly annoyed with the blonde.

‘Because it's so nice here.  
No, seriously, didn't you listen to anything, I said to you?  
I'm trapped.’

To reaffirm her claim, she raised her hands and pulled on the strings that chained her, sending a shockwave of pain through her arms.

[Stop!]

Chariot did, as she was told, letting her arms drop to her sides, exhaling slowly. Fatigue plainly showing on her face.  
The girl knelt down next to her, examining the red lines, a concerned look in her eyes.  
When she touched one of the strings, it glowed in a golden light.  
Startled she dropped it immediately, giving Chariot a bewildered look, who had a similar expression on her face.

‘Could you try, I don't know, ripping them apart?  
Then I would at least be able to wander around.’

The blonde seemed to think for a moment…  
Then nodded her head.

[I will try it.]

Flashing her a grateful smile, Chariot extended her arm, to give her a better angle.  
Dropping to her knees, the blonde carefully took one of the strings in her hand again. Making sure, not to hurt the redhead further, she proceeded to grip the line right with both hands, drawing them away from each other. The golden glow returned, only more intense than before. It seemed as if it attacked the girl now, her face scrunched up in concentration, biting her lips.

‘Stop!  
It's hurting you.’

But the other witch ignored her, pulling even stronger on the strands that bound her, gritting her teeth.

[It is draining my magic.]

She finally responded.

[I just need a little more time.]

A blinding gold light illuminated the place, robbing Chariot of her vision. She could hear a loud cawing noise, followed by a biting snap and a resurgence of magic, welling up inside her.  
Then...everything stopped. Something crashed into her with a muffled thud, making her gasp out in pain. A sudden silence enveloped the void, the light receded slowly...  
When the redhead was able to see again, she looked around disoriented.  
The blonde laid sprawled on her chest, totally exhausted, gripping Chariot's arm tightly, breathing heavily. Beside her sat a tiny white crow, staring up at her.

(Chariot?)

‘Huh?  
Do you mean me?’

The crow cooed happily.

(Found...Chariot)

Puzzled the redhead cocked her head to the side, trying not to move, as to not disturb the drained girl.

‘Who are you?’

(Help...Croix...friend...)

‘Croix send you?’

A wave of relieve washed over Chariot, eliciting a watery smile. She could go home.

‘Croix didn't forget me.’

[I am happy for you.]

Stirring slightly, the blonde sat up, still pretty exhausted but with a small smile of her own.

[I guess Al- the crow will lead you back to where you belong.]

Chariot stood up on shaky legs, the strings that bound her completely gone.  
Extending a hand to the girl, she grinned sheepishly.

‘Yes, my friend did send him.’

[Croix?]

She nodded her head, helping the other witch onto her feet, keeping their hands connected.  
The redhead still didn't know who she was and how she knew Croix, but she had helped to save her from this place. She wouldn't ask. Maybe putting her trust in someone she just met was another typically foolish Chariot thing to do, but it felt right.

‘Thank you.’

The girl looked at their still intertwined hands, seemingly at a loss.

[No need to thank me, I am sure the crow would have come to save you, regardless of my own actions.]

‘Maybe, but I'm still grateful to you.’

Flushing slightly the blonde looked away, squeezing her hand nervously, a conflicted look on her face.

[You should be on your way now.  
There is someone who is waiting for you to return after all.]

She seemed to want to add something, but shook her head quickly. Chariot let go of her hand, eyes widening comically.

‘You're right.’

Turning around, she knelt down and let the crow hop onto her shoulder. She felt a strange band of magic connecting them, warmth spreading through her entirely exhausted body. She felt safe, somehow. The same feeling she had when she was together with Croix.

[Diana.]

‘Huh?’

Looking over her shoulder her gaze fell on the blonde once more.

[My name...is Diana.]

A grin spread over Chariot's face, waving at the other witch, as she walked away.

‘I hope we'll meet again someday, Diana.’

A green light engulfed the redhead, separating her from the void completely.

[Don't worry, we will.]

###### 2018

Diana couldn't believe her ears.  
Was everyone beside her a blind moron?  
She may not know what Croix would do to Ursula, but leaving her in the tech witch's care, seemed risky. As risky as handing Amanda O'Neill the Shooting Star and expecting her not to fly with it.  
Absolutely unnecessary.  
No, she couldn't let them do this.  
Straightening herself up to her full height, she spoke, before Professor Croix could even contemplate the Idea:

“I will do it!”

Every head in the room turned towards her. In each of them, she could see absolute confusion, regarding her proposition. Even Akko seemed speechless, fixing her with a bewildered look.  
Professor Finneran appeared to be the first one to get over her inability to speak, regaining her composure. Croix on the other hand had an easy smile upon her face, raising her eyebrows at her, urging her to go ahead.  
Diana didn't like it one bit.

‘What are you planning?’

“That is a preposterous Idea Diana”, Professor Finneran's voice diverted her attention back to the vice principal. The other teachers began to murmur quietly in the room, agreeing with her, only Professor Holbrooke seemed to think about it, a serious expression on her face.  
The blonde crossed her arms, looking at Finneran with a calculating gaze.

“How so?”, she asked coolly, cocking her head slightly, “If you are currently understaffed, then shouldn't you be grateful for my offer?”

The vice principal exhaled harshly, trying to control her anger, at being called out like this.

“So”, she said coldly, “you propose we let a student handle this matter?  
Someone who is still largely inexperienced, nothing more than a child?  
You believe you can do what none of your elders accomplished?”

Diana didn't like to call attention to herself, she just wanted to learn everything there was about magic. She loved it. She probably loved it as much as Akko. She didn't mean to be disrespectful towards her teachers, but...

“Yes”, she replied evenly, not even blinking, “I do. Actually I already accomplished more than most of the Professors in this very room. For example, the dispute with the dragon.”

A light chuckle was heard behind them. Croix held her hand over her mouth and laughed heartily.  
Finneran glared at the tech witch, not at all amused.

“Do you have something to add, Croix-Sensei?”

The lavender haired witch shook her head, still chuckling to herself.

“No, by all means, continue.”

The vice principal gritted her teeth, massaging her head gently, turning her attention back to Diana.

“As brilliant as your achievements were-”

“No, she is right, Finneran-Sensei”, interrupted her Professor Holbrooke, folding her hands on the desk, “We shouldn't treat her like a youngling, rather like the great witch, she already appears to be.”

Her gaze wandered to Diana, before she continued:

“You want to take care of Ursula-Sensei yourself?”

The Cavendish blinked surprised. Did the headmistress take her seriously?  
Was there still hope to thwart this stupid Idea and protect Ursula?

‘Tread carefully, this might be your only chance.’

“Yes”, she answered, as composed as usual, inclining her head, “as it was me, who was with Ursula-Sensei at that day, it is my responsibility to nurse her back to health.”

“That is-”, began Finneran, but Holbrooke cut her of yet again, raising her hand.

“You realize, that this was not your fault Diana?”, she asked gently, with kind eyes, a sad smile on her lips.

“Of course”, conceded the blonde, still keeping her voice neutral, “but if I may be so bold, you have not the faintest Idea what ails her to begin with. And I am confident enough in my abilities to guarantee that I can find the cause of this sickness.”

“Hm”, pondered the headmistress, raising her hand to her chin in total concentration. Throwing a glance towards Finneran, she nodded.

“Finneran-Sensei”, she said in a commanding tone, which startled the vice principal, “tell her everything we know about Ursula-Sensei's ‘illness’.”

“You cannot seriously consider-”

“Finneran-Sensei!”

Sighing Finneran inclined her head, fixing Diana with an unfathomable expression.

“Ursula-Sensei seems to suffer from a high unrelenting fever”, she uttered defeated, “In addition to that, she also has strange fits, where she trashes around wildly. They are mostly paired with magical outbursts, but they appear to have lessened over time.”

When she finished everyone looked at the blonde expectantly.  
Diana closed her eyes, thinking intensely.  
What did she already know?  
Ursula collapsed after she felt a strong surge of magic in the room...  
A flash of red light blinded her...  
Fever episodes that didn't seem to stop...  
Strange fits, magical outbursts, body spasms...  
When did it lessen?

‘Chronosphere!’

Right!  
After Croix had talked about some transmission changes, Ursula had seemed better, so...

‘Does Croix make her sick?’

One more reason to stop this madness from happening. If that were true, then she definitely couldn't be trusted to take care of the blue haired teacher.  
So in the end, it probably wasn't a natural illness.  
Maybe a magical one?  
...  
But nothing seemed to fit the description of the symptoms...

‘I am missing something...’

“Psst, Sensei”, whispered a familiar voice behind her, loudly, “is this a magic sickness, like that Sensorial Overload, we talked about earlier?”

A round of gasps swept through the room. Diana's eyes fluttered open instantly, turning around to face Akko.

‘Sensorial Overload!’

“Don't be ridiculous”, Finneran reprimanded the brunette sternly, “that illness is a mythos.”

Pouting, Akko sprang forward, glaring at the older witch with contempt.

“That's a lie”, she proclaimed hotly, “Chariot got it, when she was a child. It is no mythos at all.”

‘Chariot!  
That's it!’

That was what she missed. Chariot was a witch with a natural sense for magic. And if she already got it in the past, then...

“Akko”, she interrupted the silent starring duel between the brunette and Finneran, beaming at her with barely concealed pride, “you are a genius.”

Turning around to face the headmistress once more she said with certainty:

“Ursula-Sensei suffers from Sensorial Overload!”

The defeated silence that followed rattled Diana.  
Why did no one react?  
Wasn't Finneran just talking about how ridiculous this theory was?  
So why was no one arguing with her?

Professor Holbrooke sighed and smiled sadly.

“Only you would be able to astound us with your keen intellect, Diana”, she said gently, a stricken look in her eyes, “who would have thought, that you and our Akko here, would figure it out, after all?”

A sinking feeling spread through her stomach, she didn't like where this was going.

“So, you tested me?”, she asked quietly, glancing at Croix, out of the corner of her eyes, who still smiled smugly at her.  
She couldn't let her win.

‘I can't give up now!’

“Diana”, Holbrooke began, only to be cut off by the blonde witch.

“Then I proved that I am more than capable to take care of Ursula-Sensei.”

She desperately tried to keep her voice even.

“But how would you do that?”, the headmistress stressed the point patiently, “You do have classes to attend.”

‘Don't give in!’

“I will skip them.  
I already know everything for the exams.”

“You can't skip all of your lessons.  
We can't give you special treatment.”

‘But you can give me a ridiculously big room and special permission to use the library in the middle of the night?’

“Then...then Akko will help me”, the Cavendish stated stubbornly, taking Akko's hand in her own.

“Huh?”, the brunette spluttered startled, looking at Diana with surprise. 

It didn't take long for the words to sink in and when they did, the young witch smiled brightly at her classmate.

“Of course”, she agreed determined, “if this sickness is as dangerous as everyone says, then there is no way, that I leave Ursula-Sensei's side.”

“That is enough!”, said Finneran loudly, glaring at her two students, “We have already contemplated this whole issue, it is decided. Croix-Sensei will take care of Ursula-Sensei, if she agrees.”

Everyone in the room turned their head towards the tech witch, who was still smiling lazily at the scene before her. Crossing her arms she replied charmingly:

“How could I decline, if Ursula-Sensei's life is at stake?  
Don't worry Akko, I'll take good care of her.”

‘Of course you will.’

Looking between the tech witch and Diana, Akko seemed conflicted, squeezing the blonde's hand softly.

“Why are we not just calling for the person who healed Chariot?”, she asked sheepishly, trying to lighten the mood.

“That's-”, Diana began, but the puzzled look from the headmistress made her stop in her tracks.

“But we already did”, she said perplexed, pointing at Croix with her hand.

‘What the?’

Akko seemed a bit slower on the uptake than her, eyes flickering from Holbrooke's extended hand to Croix and back, until it apparently clicked, as she let out a surprised yell:

“You healed Shiny Chariot, Sensei?”

That was why she was so calm the whole time, her trump card.  
How could she have been so blind?

Her ears started to throb, making her head spin in response. Tuning out the now muffled voices, she tried to calm herself down, failing horribly.  
There was nothing she could do.  
She was all alone.

‘I never stood a chance from the very beginning!’

She couldn't stay here.  
Walking to the door, she ignored the questioning glances from the teachers.  
Someone called her name obviously concerned, but she couldn't make out who it was, for as soon as she opened the door, she ran.  
Her feet carried her to the infirmary.  
She had to wake Ursula...  
There had to be a way...  
Diana didn't bother to close the door, as she reached the sleeping Professor.

“You have to wake up!”, she said loudly.

Ursula didn't react.

“Akko needs you!”, she tried again, her voice cracking slightly.

Nothing...  
She dropped to her knees slowly.

‘What am I doing?’

“I can't do this without you.”

Her breath hitched, as the throbbing in her ears got even worse.

“Please, Sensei, just open your eyes...”

She finally broke down, her mask shattered.

And then, there was a pair of arms holding her from behind, pressing her comfortably into another body. Getting lost in the warmth, Diana felt a faint jolt of magic running through her. Without being able to even think another thought, she blacked out.

###### July 2006

“Chariot”

Where was she?

“Chariot, don’t ever do this to me again...”

Blinking the sleep away, the redhead, raised her head slightly, searching for the source of the voice.

“Please wake up...”

There, on her stomach, laid Croix's head, weighting her down, apparently crying. Chariot opened her mouth to say something, but the next words from her friend, made her stop in her tracks.

“I love you...”

Chariot felt her face getting hot, flushing as red as her hair. That was definitely an interesting way to get a confession. Not that she complained, because…  
Croix loved her!

‘She loves me!’

Suddenly nothing else seemed to matter anymore. Raising her hand, she caressed her friend's head softly. She was finally home.

“I love you too, Croix”, she rasped slightly. Her voice sounded foreign to her ears and felt kind of scratchy. When was the last time she talked?

‘How long was I asleep?’

She felt the head under her hand stiffen. Fidgeting fingers grabbed hers, squeezing gently, refusing to let them go. Croix raised her head slowly until tear streaked green eyes met their red counterparts. Chariot smiled mildly.

“I'm home”, she whispered, looking longingly at the lavender haired witch.

Croix said nothing, staring at the redhead blankly, barreling forward, pressing the younger witch back against the mattress, capturing her lips in a searing kiss.  
The kiss tasted salty, but Chariot couldn't care less, grabbing onto the older witch's shoulders, keeping them together. She never wanted to be parted from her again.  
Breaking apart for a short moment, to catch their breaths, Croix whispered hotly into her ear:

“Never leave me again.”

Before kissing her again, this time more roughly. Chariot shuddered, urging her on to continue, trying to erase every trace of ‘that place’ from her mind. Jumping slightly, as familiar hands began to wander, roaming gently over her body, igniting everything they touched. Subconsciously arching into them, getting lost into the feeling, she sighed contently until a soft cooing made them pause.  
There, on the ground, sat the little crow, obviously protesting about something. Croix's enthusiastic greeting had apparently thrown the bird, from Chariot's chest.  
Groaning in annoyance the older witch sat back up, leaning towards the floor and grabbed the little disturbance.  
The crow cooed happily, pecking Croix's finger gently.  
Chariot looked at her friend, totally out of breath, but with a beaming smile.

“Looks like Alcor likes you just as much as me.”

“Alcor?”, asked Croix amused, mustering the bird in her hand, “Really?”

Laughing embarrassed, the redhead scratched her head.

“I…kinda thought it fit him.”

“It does”, the older witch conceded, letting the bird go, “I literally napped him from the sky.”

He cooed again, hopping on Chariot's head, spreading his wings, brushing against the electrodes, causing them to fall down.

“What's this?”, asked the younger witch, grasping one of them, turning it in her hand.

“It's an electrode”, explained Croix, motioning to her machine in the room, “I used them, to connect you to my magic output system.”

‘Magic output what?’

Chuckling softly, the lavender haired witch continued:

“It is essentially an artificial Leyline. It uses the excess energy from the sorcerer's stone and functions as another power source. I'm trying to generate magic in a new, modern way.”

Modern Magic?  
That sounded simply...

“Amazing, Croix”, whispered Chariot awed, “do you think, that even non witches could use magic with this?”

Croix's expression froze slightly, gazing at the redhead with an unfathomable look in her eyes, as she smiled:

“Perhaps…I am going to be the greatest witch of all times after all.”

Taking Chariot's hand gently, she pressed a soft kiss onto it.

“For sure!”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry for the delay, I had some entrance exams to attend and couldn't finish this sooner.  
> A word in advance, I had the Idea for the whole story when we were at Ep 16, because I saw a certain picture  
> of Shiny Chariot on the wiki page, so canon stole from me...partly XD  
> Thank you all for still reading the story, you guys are awesome.  
> Enjoy^^

###### 2018

 

Sitting on the stairs, leading to the school entrance, Akko was lost in thoughts. Holding the Shiny Rod in her hands, she looked into the blue sky, trying to ignore the read gleam that came from one of its gems. It had been that way, since the time Diana had broken down and collapsed in her arms. The teachers had said it was probably stress, that she worked too much.  
And was it really that surprising?  
From what she had read in the blonde's diary, she always studied with absolute dedication. Never leaving anything unfinished. Be it tasks for the school or totally unrelated topics, like the words the brunette had to search, she gave one hundred percent every time.

‘She did tell me she was having sleeping troubles.’

Could that have been a symptom already?  
She herself was sleeping wonderful lately. Akko had thought that after that strange occurrence in Ursula's lesson, she would uncover a new word. Or at the very least, get a hint for one. But that didn’t seem to be the case. It remained a onetime dreaming session for her…  
Well apart from that panic attack, she guessed...  
But she doubted that these things were connected somehow.  
Maybe Diana was really just sleep deprived...  
Though… Akko had the sinking feeling that this wasn't the case at all.  
For the blonde to break down so suddenly, especially after she had scolded her the day before, about the importance of her own endurance, staying strong for the sake of others, was hard to imagine. But here there were...  
She was probably worried for nothing. Even the professors said that Diana was fine and would wake up soon. She just needed to rest for a while.  
So why was she still feeling so dejected?

‘What's wrong with me?’

As of late, Akko somehow couldn't get the Cavendish out of her head.  
She didn't know why. At first, she couldn't even stand her, being so ridiculously perfect all the time.  
Always infuriating the brunette with her ‘know it all’ attitude, always making her stomach twist and flutter whenever she got a glimpse of those crystal blue eyes. The funny tingling she got whenever they touched. The incredible happiness she felt, once the blonde praised her...  
Shaking her head softly, she closed her eyes.  
What was she thinking about?

“Maybe I'm sick”, she muttered towards the sky, gripping the rod tighter.

“Please, don't tell me you have fallen ill as well, Akko”, sounded Professor Croix's voice from behind the brunette, making her turn her head in surprise, eyes fluttering open again.

“Croix-Sensei”, she greeted the tech witch defeated, releasing a lethargic sigh.

Croix appeared puzzled, before understanding flashed through her eyes. With a sad smile on her lips she crossed the distance between them and sat down next to her student.

“Are you that disappointed in me, for keeping my friendship with Chariot a secret?”

“No!”, Akko almost yelled, shaking her head violently.  
Quieting down slightly, she added: “I mean, it was quite a shock to find out that you and Shiny Chariot were actually friends, especially after Finneran-Sensei told me you weren't rivals, when I asked her, but...you saved her!”

The tech witch chuckled mildly at that.

“I don't know what exactly Finneran-Sensei has told you about my relationship with Chariot”, she said lightly, a nostalgic note to her tone, as she too, looked into the sky with a hint of longing, “but she was right in that regard. Chariot and I were never rivals, we **are** so much more than that...”

She trailed off, apparently losing herself in a happy memory, a bright smile on her face. Akko had never seen Professor Croix look so content in the time they knew each other, which was kind of sad.  
And now she could even guess why.

‘I definitely have to find Chariot!’

Something awful must have happened, if not even her closest friends knew where she went.  
Speaking of which.

“Does that mean you were friends with Ursula-Sensei as well?”, Akko asked positively exited. 

Maybe she could also finally get a larger picture of what her mentor was like as a student. She was always so timid and shy, fidgeting whenever she tried to broach the subject. So self-conscious...  
But next to Chariot, that was probably expected. Not everyone could stand out like her.  
Croix's peaceful expression morphed into a scowl, before she could force it back into one of her perfected smiles.

“Ursula-Sensei?”, she pondered sweetly, stretching her arms above her head, leaning back against the edge from one of the stairs, facing Akko once more, “She was such an unimpressive individual, I must admit, I have forgotten that she even existed back then...  
But if you are that interested in her, why don't you browse the yearbooks? I'm sure you will find everything you want to know there.”

The brunette's mood sunk quickly, her gaze trailing down to her lap, fixing the Shiny Rod with a slight frown. The gem still glowed red. She didn't want to think about the reason behind this. She was already feeling sick enough as it was. 

“I apologize”, the tech witch said, after it became apparent, that her student wouldn't answer her, “I spoke without considering your feelings on the matter. You are, of course, worried about your mentor.”

Akko felt a warm hand on her head, patting it gently, making her freeze, as she let out a strangled sob.  
Why was everything so wrong right now?  
Why couldn't Ursula just wake up again?  
She really needed her at the moment.

‘I want you to pat my head again...’

Croix continued to ruffle her hair, trying to sooth her.

“Don't worry Akko”, she whispered softly, “I'm positive that Ursula will open her eyes, at the very latest tomorrow.”

Wiping her eyes the brunette looked up again.

“You promise?”

The tech witch laughed lightly. It sounded kind of fake, but maybe she just imagined it.  
Pulling her hand back, she stood up, flipping her cape.

“Have more faith in my abilities”, she said confidently, a hint of arrogance in her tone, “I am Chariot's savior after all.”

Turning around to the school entrance, she walked a few steps, before she came to a halt again, looking over her shoulder, apparently waiting for Akko to follow her. The brunette rose too, tucking the rod onto her belt, which made Croix pause.  
Motioning to the rod, she cocked her head to the side, questioning.

“Since when is it glowing like that?”

Glancing down quickly, Akko scrunched up her face in a thoughtful expression.

“Since Diana fainted, I guess”, she said, slightly concerned, “I haven't really paid attention to it for a while. Is this bad?”

‘I hope not.’

Akko had an uneasy feeling about this. Ursula would know about it, but she wasn't here. Why was this happening? School was supposed to be fun, but lately everything seemed to get just...wrong.

“Diana?”, repeated the tech witch, ignoring the question entirely, “Didn't you complain about her not even a week ago?”

‘Diana...’

She felt strange again, kind of...content.  
Flashing a sheepish grin, the brunette scratched her head in embarrassment.  
Her eyes suddenly gleaming with excitement, as she rambled:

“Well... that's totally on me, I misjudged her so bad. She is actually really kind and caring and strong and her smile is so beautiful and-”

“Would you say, you like her?”, interrupted Croix, with a smile of her own in an upbeat tone, turning to face Akko completely.

‘Like her?’

“Huh?”, spluttered Akko surprised. What kind of question was that?  
“Of course, she is-”

“If she were in danger”, her teacher cut her off again, eyes unusually cold and calculating,” would you do anything in your power to save her?”

‘What the?’

“...what?..”

The thought alone, filled Akko with an unbearable amount of dread. Balling her hands up into fists, to stop them from shaking too much, she stared at her teacher in terror.

Croix seemed to contemplate what she had just said and shook her head, still smiling, when she met the younger witch's gaze.

“Never mind.”

‘But I do mind.’

Her stomach twisted violently, churning, leaving a nauseating taste in her mouth. What was wrong with the professor lately? She did get more and more the feeling that Croix wasn't as kind as she tried to appear...  
But that was of course nonsense.  
She was friends with Chariot after all.  
Her mind was probably just playing tricks on her...  
Maybe...

“Am I sick Sensei?”, Akko asked, her voice cracking slightly, sounding miserable.

The question seemed to rattle the tech witch, crossing her arms, a frown upon her face.  
“What makes you think that?”

Her tone was warmer now, but still had an edge to it.

‘I don't get her at all.’

That didn't mean that she wouldn't try to understand her. She was one of the few teachers she could actually get along with. And she was super smart. She could probably help her with her problem too.

“Whenever I'm thinking about Diana I just...”, she said slowly, searching for the right words,  
“I feel really strange...”

Staring at the tech witch expectantly, fiddling with her thumbs, she jumped, as her teacher began to laugh...loudly. Supporting herself on the stone wall, her arms circled around her stomach, she gasped for air, still not calming down. She sounded carefree, observed Akko.

“Don't worry, you are no more sick than me”, wheezed Croix out, pausing for a moment, to catch her breath. She looked so much younger when she laughed like this, the brunette surmised.

“You feel that way too, Croix-Sensei?”

Seeing the teacher that happy raised her own spirit immensely.

“Let's just say, you might feel the same way about Diana, like I about Chariot.”

‘Huh?’

What did she mean by that?  
Akko could only blink owlishly at the older witch, who stepped away from the wall, facing away from her, climbing the stairs, apparently done talking to her.

“Wait!”, the younger witch called after her, ”What about the Shiny Rod?”

Croix stopped dead in her tracks, not turning around, not even throwing a glance back to Akko.  
“Oh that”, she drawled...amused?  
“It means its owner is most likely in danger.”

‘Well that's a rel-  
Wait!’

She said it so nonchalant, that the brunette needed a moment to grasp the meaning of those words.  
Her teacher didn't seem to be phased, continuing her way up, lazily waving with her right hand over her shoulder, as a farewell.

“Well, I probably should go now. Can’t leave poor Ursula-Sensei to fend for herself after all.  
Have a good day.”

Akko stared after her, her mind in turmoil.  
The owner of the staff was in danger?  
But...that would mean...

‘I need to warn Chariot!’

###### July 2006

“Again Alcor, match me!”

Chariot whirled around, her wand in her hand, standing on her broom, floating a few meters above the ground. She wasn't really that high up, but kept track of her surroundings nonetheless.

‘You never know.’

She knew, that she wasn't supposed to use magic at the moment. Croix had told her this time and time again and made her promise to take it easy the next few weeks, before she even allowed her to go outside unsupervised. The redhead really didn't want to break it, to make her worry..., but she couldn't just do nothing. From what she was told, she had already slept a whole week away. Wasn't that enough bed rest? Grumbling slightly under her breath, she refocused her attention back to her trick. Trying to keep her balance on the broom, she raised her wand in the air and yelled:

“Metamorphie Faciesse!”

Transforming herself into a red cat, she jumped on the passing Alcor. They had worked on their timing for the last two hours, only taking short breaks to drink something.

‘At the very least, Croix can't get mad at me for being dehydrated.’

The little crow was a perfect addition to their little family. She still couldn't explain the bond, the two of them seemed to share, but that didn't mean he was always on her side. To the contrary, he and the lavender haired witch had apparently teamed up and berated her every chance they got, to stop her from doing something, that they deemed too straining. She had to bribe Alcor to get him to train with her today. If Croix would find out about this, she probably would manufacture an unbreakable bird cage for him...  
Her behavior worried Chariot a bit. They were always together, since the first time they met. There wasn't a day when they wouldn't see each other, which evolved into the relationship they now seemed to have...  
Even if she still couldn't bring herself to call the older witch her girlfriend out loud...  
But that was mostly because they were still at school and Croix's admirers would have a field day with this. Probably making her life a living hell once the lavender haired witch would graduate next year...  
She didn't even want to think about that...

‘What am I going to do without you?’

Could their relationship survive this?  
A believing heart was her magic...  
She had to believe, even if it was hard. They could do this.  
Which brought her back to the fact, that Croix was always watching her. She loved her, she really did, but after her accident, the older witch had become overbearing to the point of attempting to control her every action. Never actually forcing her to do something against her will, but...she didn't even let her hold the Claiomh Solais anymore.  
Which was ridiculous, because she had to revive the words, after all.

Alcor circled around a tree and rushed back towards the still floating broom. Keeping it in the air took immense concentration on her part. Jumping from the crow's back, doing a somersault, she transformed back into herself. Gripping the handle of her broom with both hands, she flipped herself back into the air. Feeling the wind ruffling her hair, she focused on her landing. On the nearer drawing ground, the green grass, the two brooms...

‘Wait...two?’

A wave of dizziness washed over her, making her head spin. She tried to sense the strands of magic, willing them towards her, but she couldn't hold onto them. They slipped out of her grasp every time she tried.  
With sudden clarity, the redhead knew she was going to crash. Squeezing her eyes shut tightly, she braced herself for the impact, listening to her rapid heartbeat, to Alcor's loud cawing...

Tensing her body, she slammed into something...soft, with a dull thud, followed by a yelp of pain beneath her. Opening her eyes slowly, the only thing she saw was green. The most beautiful and welcoming green Chariot had come to know. A soft hand caressed her cheek gently, trailing her thump along the redhead's jaw line.

“Are you alright, Chariot?”, asked Croix, her voice full of concern.

Chariot nodded. She was absolutely speechless. She had thought this was it. Surviving the Sensorial Overload, only to break her neck afterwards.  
Her friend mustered her intensely, leaving no place on her head unchecked, sighing in relief.  
Hugging her close, she mumbled into the crook of her neck:

“I'm glad.”

Before pushing the redhead away, a sour expression on her face, pointing two fingers at her.

“Two days, Chariot!”, she said sternly, glaring at her, making the younger witch shrink into herself, “You couldn't even wait two days, before you tried to kill yourself again!”

Flinching away from the harsh words, Chariot hung her head in shame.

“I'm sorry Croix...”, she muttered defeated, feeling absolutely miserable. 

Her head was killing her, still spinning, making her want to vomit. She really wanted a hug right now, but Croix seemed too angry at the moment, continuing her triad:

“You always are.  
Why can't you just listen to me? Is it really so funny to rile me up like this?  
Always doing those things that endanger your life further.  
Can't you forget your stupid dream for one second?”

With every sentence she said, the volume of her voice increased, almost spitting the words out.

“But...”, whispered Chariot, shaking slightly, as tears blurred her vision, “I want to make people forget their sadness with a smile and-”

“Do I look happy Chariot?”, the older witch all but screamed,” Do you see me smile?  
Or is mine not that important?”

“N...no...”, she replied, her tone sounding unusually high pitched, no more, than a squeak.

It didn't even sound like her voice at all.  
Appearing unfazed, by her friend’s turmoil, Croix pressed on:

“Exactly, no!  
Looks like you failed!”

‘I...failed?’

Green eyes widened in horror, realizing what she had just said. Extending a hand towards the redhead, to keep her in place, Croix's voice grew desperate:

“Wait, I didn't mean-”

But Chariot slapped her hand away, scrambling to her feet and took off, without another glance in the older witch's direction.

“CHARIOT!”

###### 

 

Running away from Croix probably wasn't the best Idea, but she had to get away for a moment. It was simply too much. Tears streamed down her face and her whole body ached from the strain she put herself under. It didn't matter, she failed after all. The one thing she swore to never let happen...

‘I failed Croix!’

Her feet carried her through the familiar passages, towards the only other person who even remotely cared about her: Professor Woodward.  
When she reached her goal, she finally stopped, tumbling to the ground, her breathing labored. Her lungs were burning, every breath she took made her cough violently, making her hiccup ever so often.  
Crying helplessly, she wished for the first time, she hadn't woken up at all.  
Why did this happen to her?

‘It's all the Leyline's fault!’

If it hadn't collapsed, then everything would be fine. Croix wouldn't treat her like an invalid, wouldn't have said those things to her. They would still be searching for the fifth word, laughing together, having fun...

‘She loves me...’

Chariot knew that to be true, but...

‘For how long?’

Yes, how long, until the other witch realized that she wasn't worth it?

“Chariot.”

The wind picked up, whirling leaves around, marking the appearance of the blue moon spirit.

“Woodward-Sensei”, whispered the redhead tiredly, sitting up from the ground, to get a better look at her, crossing her legs underneath.

“You are in turmoil Chariot”, Woodward spoke softly, gazing gently at the younger witch, who wiped her tears away, “your belief is shaking, it's waning.  
Don't let little Croix's demons become your own.”

‘Croix's demons?’

Chariot somehow felt slightly offended right now. Her tiredness forgotten, ignoring the pain in her battered body, she stood up.

“No, she was right, I disregarded her feelings...”, she said quietly.

“Jealousy is not an easy burden to carry around.”

‘Jealousy?’

“That's not what this is about!”, argued the redhead hotly.

What was wrong with Woodward today? Or better, what was wrong with everyone lately?  
Taking deep breaths, to calm herself, she was forced to listen to the old witch once more.

“Are you sure?”, she asked mildly, as if she was a small child, who didn't know any better. It made her absolutely furious. “I felt a disruption, rippling through the Leylines, a disturbance.”

Chariot shook her head, clenching her hands, staring defiantly at the blue moon spirit.

“If Croix is responsible for this she probably did that to save me!”

A look of surprise flashed through Woodward's eyes, only to be immediately replaced by an uncanny blank mask.

“I wonder...”, she contemplated out loud, “A force like this could do many things...maybe even to the Leylines themselves...”

The Leylines? Why would that be relevant? Croix always researched new ways of magic, but she still needed the support from the original sources...

‘Was she saying...?’

Staring at the old witch in disbelief, she felt how her insides turned to ice.  
There was no way! Croix wouldn't endanger other people for her experiments, especially when Chariot herself was involved.

“No, Woodward-Sensei”, she corrected her vehemently, “she wouldn't do something like that!”

“I wasn't implying otherwise”, the blue moon spirit stated calmly, “but keep in mind. The Claiomh Solais has its own head and it chose you, little Croix on the other hand is not even allowed to touch it, a phenomenon I haven't seen occurring for hundreds of years.”

‘I don't care!’

That stupid rod didn't know the first thing about her friend.

“Then it's wrong about her, just as you are!”, finished Chariot forcefully, gritting her teeth.

She really was too emotionally unstable for this nonsense.  
She should have listened to Croix.

“I hope you are right.”

‘Do you really?’

It was pretty bizarre. She had run to Woodward, in hopes of feeling better afterwards, but now she was only more depressed, than before.

“CHARIOT!”

Chariot turned her head towards the direction from which the call had come from, startled.

‘Croix!’

Did she actually run after her? 

‘I never should have left her to begin with.’

Glancing at Woodward out of the corner of her eyes, she walked a few steps, into the direction, that would hopefully lead her back to her friend.

“Go”, encouraged the old witch kindly, “little Croix is searching for you.”

She didn't need to be told twice.

As Chariot continued to walk away, she almost crashed into the lavender haired witch running towards her.

“Chariot-”

“Croix-”, they said at the same time, gazing at each other painfully.

“Ah”, stammered the redhead, feeling uneasy, “please, you first...”

Crossing the short distance between them, Croix pulled the younger witch into a hug, throwing an angry glance towards Woodward, not acknowledging her at all.  
Chariot relaxed into her hold, relishing at the feeling of her friend's strong heartbeat, her radiating warmth, her familiar smell. It grounded her.

“I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things to you.”

Returning the hug, tightening her hold on the older witch, the redhead asked disbelieving:

“Why are you apologizing? You were right, I was reckless. You shouldn't have to worry about me all the time.”

Pulling away slightly, Croix shook her head.

“I will always worry about you, Chariot. I don't think you can stop me-”

Catching her before she could fall down, the younger witch froze in shock. Looking her friend up and down, she realized in what a state Croix was in. Her uniform was ripped in half, exposing her back, where a mean cut ran along it. Her sleeves were torn and one of her knees was bleeding strongly.

“Croix, you're injured!”, Chariot cried out, panicking, trying to steady her to keep her afoot.

“Pay it no mind”, Croix rasped in a tired voice, throwing another hateful glance to Woodward, who was watching them quietly. Following her line of sight, the redhead frowned. What happened between them?  
Straightening herself up a bit, the older witch refocused on Chariot again, stating with a soothing tone: 

“It doesn't really hurt anymore.”

Barely audible, her face twisting into a slight grimace, she added:

“In my haste to follow you, I might have run into some ‘trouble’ along the way.”

The way she said the word, made her hair stand on end. What kind of trouble were they talking about?

“What?!”, yelled the redhead alarmed, “Croix, your wounds-”

“Can be treated at the school”, interrupted Croix firmly, flashing a forced smile, “and besides, I feel fine, see?”

Letting go of the redhead, she tried to whirl around, hissing mildly in pain, as she put weight on her damaged knee, almost losing her balance.

“Croix!”

Chariot pressed forward again, holding her friend upright.  
Chuckling to herself, Croix conceded:

“Alright, maybe not as fine as I thought...”

‘Not as fine as she...?’

Was she serious right now?  
Whatever happened left her in this state. That was not a laughing matter. Turning around hopefully, she tried to ask Professor Woodward what she could do to help her friend, but...she was only met with eerie silence...  
Woodward was gone.  
Where did she go?

‘What's going on?’

“What are we going to do?”, she spluttered, eyes widening in terror, “Can you walk? We have to hurry!”

“I'm not on the verge of death, Chariot”, huffed Croix, rolling her eyes at the younger witch's obvious panic, as she desperately tried to support her friend over her shoulder, failing miserable.

She was just too exhausted herself.

‘I'm lucky if I could even make it back to school by myself.’

Keeping them both standing was using up all of the energy she had left. Hanging her head, she muttered darkly, an empty look in her eyes:

“I'm sorry, this is all my fault. You're in this situation because of me. Because I can't stop doing stupid things. I really did fail you...”

“No”, Croix said vehemently, gripping the younger witch's shoulders, forcing eye contact, “don't you dare say that!”

Chariot's eyes flitted away. She couldn't bear to look at her.

“But-”

“No!”, reaffirmed Croix vigorously, “I was frustrated and afraid and I took it out on you.”

Sighing loudly, she began to caress the redhead's cheek, her voice turning soft.

“The truth is”, she almost whispered, “You make me the happiest person on earth. Sure, you are immature and borderline naive sometimes. You make me angry, you make me sad, you make me all those things, but that's alright...”

Hesitating for a moment, she added firmly:

“Because you are mine.”

Kissing her forehead, she murmured:  
“Mine to keep”, before trailing down to her nose,  
“Mine to cherish”, pecking it gently, before letting her lips hover over Chariot's, only a few millimeters apart, whispering hotly against them:  
“Mine to love.”

Crossing the remaining distance between them, Croix kissed the redhead impossibly soft, almost without any pressure at all, plunging the younger witch's senses into a jumbled mess. Her face was burning so hot, she was sure she would explode at any minute now, or at the very least melt.

“Croix...”, she breathed out in a daze, as the older witch pulled away again. Trying to convey the extent of her own feelings through her shaking voice.

As if on cue, Croix blinked in remembrance, with new vigor, she let go of the redhead altogether and pulled something from her belt. It was the Claiomh Solais, bundled in some kind of linen.

“Here”, the lavender haired witch said determined, handing it to Chariot, with a small smile on her face, “we need it revive the words after all.”

Staring at her friend speechlessly, she took the rod, freeing it from the cloth. Her gaze falling on Croix's still outstretched hand, when a sudden realization hit her. She had touched it...

‘Croix touched the Claiomh Solais.’

And that meant...  
Seeing the blisters on her hands, Chariot was overwhelmed by her feelings. Croix hurt herself for her, still coming after her, even though they had fought before. Looking after the redhead, trying to cheer her up, even apologizing for being worried about her. Saving her life...  
Always, always supporting her...

“Thank you!”, she whispered tearfully, taking the older witch's hand in her own.

‘I don't deserve you!’

A dim light flickered in one of the gems, directing both their attentions towards the rod.

[Lyonne]

‘Huh?’

Blue eyes flashed before Chariot's inner eye. She knew that voice...  
Where had she heard it before?  
A bright, green light enveloped them.  
The feelings in her heart swelled on, building up her magic, her mouth forming the words almost by itself.

“Lyonne”

###### 2018

When Chariot opened her eyes, she didn't know where she was. Feeling utterly drained, she scrambled to sit up, looking around. Gasping lightly, her expression morphed into one of shock. She appeared to be in Croix's room, or better, her laboratory, on a soft bed.

‘Figures she would sleep here too.’

Shaking her head vigorously, trying to clear her thoughts, she stared at the machine right next to her, whirring faintly. Extending her arm towards it, she hesitated.  
Was it the same machine from all those years ago?  
The one that saved her?  
Before she could make up her mind, whether to touch it or not, another thing caught her attention.  
There, on the table, where Akko had once laid, glowed something.  
Squinting through her eyes in the dim light, she saw the outline of a...staff?

‘What?’

Almost jumping from the bed, Chariot tumbled to the ground with a loud thud. Gritting her teeth, she tried to calm her racing heart. Could it be?  
Trying to support herself on wobbling knees she stood up again, wavering towards the table, absolutely bewildered.  
She didn't know what Croix had done in her absence, her memories where hazy, just like the last time, she overloaded herself, but it couldn't be good. Reaching the table, her breath hitched.  
It was the Claiomh Solais!

Or better, something that looked eerily like it.  
Where the original staff was light, that one was dark.  
Well, a dark brown, to be exact.  
Looking at the rod, her heart began to pound madly in her chest. She felt a soft pull, tugging at her senses, urging her to take it.

‘What's going on?’

As if in a daze, she raised her arm towards it.  
She just wanted to know, what it would do, magic surging around them.

“I wouldn't do that if I were you”, cut a voice through the tense silence, breaking the magically charged air.

Forcing her gaze away from the dark rod, she looked at her old friend, standing a few feet away from the automatic door leading to the laboratory. How did she not hear her entrance?

“Croix!”, she acknowledged her, an angry note to her tone.

The tech witch flashed her a smug smile, which infuriated Chariot to no end.  
Crossing her arms, sparing the staff on the table a short glance, she drawled amused:

“So Chariot du Nord finally woke from her slumber? I was afraid I would have to call you Sleepy Chariot from now on.”

‘The nerve of her!’

“Cut the crap, Croix!”, the younger Professor said sharply, “You trapped me!”

Shrugging awkwardly, the tech witch's smile widened.

“What can I say? I did. Although it wasn't my intention-”

“Then why-”, Chariot chimed in, getting more and more frustrated, only to be interrupted herself.

“At first, but what did you expect would happen when you connected yourself willingly to my SSS?  
A system that generates magic itself?”

So it was her own fault now? Really? Was this one of her clever attempts to manipulate her?  
She was done feeling guilty for protecting the people she cared about. Croix wouldn't succeed with whatever she had planned. Chariot would stop her.

‘For sure.’

“It wasn't your magic that overloaded my senses and you know it”, she replied hotly, trying to ignore her fatigue, placing her hands on the table in front of her.

“Perhaps”, Croix conceded lightly, still fixing her with an unfathomable smile, that made her heart flutter. Her beautiful green eyes practically radiating confidence...

‘Stop!’

“Does it really matter now?”, asked the tech witch knowingly, as if she was aware of the effect she had on the younger witch, “You're awake again.”

How could she be so nonchalant about this?

“You trapped me there for days!”, she almost yelled, gritting her teeth.

What was wrong with that woman?

“You tried to boycott my experiment”, came the imminent reply.

“I was protecting Akko!”

Croix seemed to pause at that, her focus lost, apparently in deep thoughts.

“Did you?”, she finally asked amused, her head slightly cocked to the side, tapping her chin. Before raising her hands defeated. 

“Well, I just wanted to check on you and be on my way again, so do yourself a favor and rest.”

With that the tech witch turned around, walking back to the door, her cape fluttering behind her.

‘Is she really just going to leave me here alone?’

“Croix, what-”

Holding up a hand over her shoulder, to stop the younger witch from talking, never faltering in her steps, that lead away from her, she said:

“We can talk once I'm back.”

Chariot could practically picture the smug expression on her face right now, hearing the overconfidence in her tone when she added:

“No snooping around Chariot, you might not like the consequences if you do.”

Leaving her alone with the swish of the door.  
She actually left her here...  
Was she so sure, that Chariot couldn't do anything to stop her?

‘Is she really expecting me to stay here?’

No, Croix knew her too well for that. She must have plotted something...  
Just what?  
Her gaze landed on the dark rod again, as she considered her options carefully.  
She could do as Croix said and rest, maybe trying to probe the older witch for more information once she got back, but she could easily warp the truth, like she did back then. Or she could leave right now. It was probably for the best, if she took the staff and brought it to Professor Woodward. She would know what to do with it. If it was dangerous for Akko. 

‘I won't let anything happen to you.’

Her best course of action was to go to the old witch and after that, she would have a talk with Diana.  
The poor girl was probably blaming herself for her accident. She reminded Chariot of herself in that regard.  
Making up her mind, she took the rod from the table. As soon as her hand closed around it, she felt magic surging through her, responding to the silent call that resonated from it. Gripping it even tighter she went to the door on unsteady legs.  
She couldn't let Croix do as she pleased.

‘I will stop you!’


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I'm really sorry about not updating last week, but I had so many exams, I couldn't finish this earlier.  
> I know LWA ended, but I hope you still want to read this story.  
> I'm actually planning another fanfiction already...well two...  
> Anyway, thank you all for still reading the story, you guys are awesome.  
> Enjoy^^

###### 2018

Knocking on Akko's door, Diana waited, impatiently tapping her foot. When she woke up again, a few hours seemed to have passed, as she hadn't seen Professor Ursula in the infirmary, her usual spot vacant. So they must have already transferred her to Croix's quarters.  
How could she have let that happen?  
She should have never lost her composure like that.  
The tech witch had outwitted her. Diana had underestimated her opponent and to make matters worse, she ran...like a child. Probably making her a big hypocrite in Akko's eyes, even breaking down in tears at the very end. But that moment made her realize she couldn't do this alone. Protecting Ursula, stopping Croix, restoring magic. She needed help...  
So she made a decision. She would tell Akko everything. First she had to assure her that she was alright, because that girl always worried too much for her own good, and then...they would have to talk about Chariot.  
Whatever had happened after the brunette had hugged her, Diana was sure she hadn't imagined it. She really had talked to a teenage version of Chariot, as unbelievable as that sounded.  
And that meant...

‘My dreams are probably real too!’

It pained her to think about it, but she might also have to tell her about Professor Ursula's real identity. She just couldn't wait any longer. Time was of the essence. Whatever Croix had planned, it was certainly soon to be revealed and they needed to prepare, to be ready for it. Akko needed to know, she needed to be warned. Hopefully she would believe her. She could only guess how she saw Professor Croix after it became apparent that her and Chariot were friends.

‘Please believe me!’

Clearing her throat, she knocked even harder on the door. Did it really take that long to open it?

“Ah, Diana?”

Turning her head she saw Lotte Yanson staring at her, a puzzled look on her face. In her hands she was carrying a bag, probably just returning from the city with her bought goods.

“Good evening Lotte”, said Diana politely, “I am in search of Akko. Do you know where she might be?”

She gestured to the still closed door.

“I already tried your room, but nobody seems to be there.”

Cocking her head to the side Lotte frowned, appearing even more confused.

“That's strange”, she said softly, mustering the door intensely, “Sucy and Akko where both in when I left...”

Fishing for her keys she tried to unlock it.

“Let me check.”

But before she could turn the key in the keyhole, the door swung open abruptly, almost hitting Diana in the head. When they both recovered from the shock, they stared at the totally nonchalant looking person standing at the doorstep.

“Sucy!”, exclaimed Lotte frustrated.

“What?”

Sucy's tone was as monotone as ever, only the annoyed look in her eyes betrayed her current mood.  
The blonde peeked inside the room, but couldn't spot the energetic witch anywhere.

‘Where are you Akko?’

Lotte huffed irritated.

“Diana was standing at our doorstep and knocked”, she said with a sigh, “Didn't you hear her?”

Glancing towards the blonde, Sucy answered bored:

“I heard her. I just didn't want to open the door.”

‘...what?’

Diana opened her mouth, trying to find the right words to accurately formulate her next question, but she never got to speak. Lotte was apparently as bewildered as her, regarding the mushroom loving witch's behavior and rushed to her friend, a disbelieving look on her face, frowning slightly.

“Why?”, she asked concerned, forcing Sucy's attention away from the blonde and back to her.

The Cavendish had an inkling that she shouldn't interrupt Lotte right now. She had never seen the other witch so disturbed before.

“And where is Akko? Weren't you two together?”

“Does that really matter?”

“Of course it does! Diana-”

“Diana, Diana, Diana!”, sneered Sucy, finally breaking her faux calm demeanor, sounding increasingly more hostile...and sad? 

“You sound like Akko. If it's not Chariot, it's Diana lately.”

Trying not to get herself worked up, she turned towards the blonde, frowning, pointing her index finger at her.

“She doesn't need you!”, she grumbled, narrowing her eyes even more, “Stay away from her, you confuse her enough as it is!”

‘What is going on here?’

“I...confuse her?”, repeated Diana slowly, utterly lost, as she crossed her arms and threw a glance at Lotte, who's expression had softened somewhat. A saddened look spread over her face.

“Sucy...”, the bookworm breathed out gently, raising her hand towards her friend, as if she wanted to give her a hug.

Slapping the hand away, still fixated on the blonde, Sucy appeared undeterred.

“Yes, so if you could leave now, that would be great.”

Whatever had gotten into the lilac haired witch? Diana had no time for this, as much as she wanted to help. Shaking her head, she retorted coolly:

“I can't. Regardless your opinion of me, I have to find Akko.”

“Tch”, Sucy clicked her tongue snidely, “Always so self righteous. I can't understand what she sees in you. I guess love is blind after all."

‘Love?’

Diana froze.  
Where did that came from?  
Akko didn't love her. Even the thought was ridiculous.  
And even if she did, she wouldn't return those feelings...  
There was just no way, she would fall for that rambunctious troublemaker, with those sparkling red eyes. The only reason she wanted to help her was because of her status as the chosen one...right?  
It didn't have anything to do with the way she always smiled so charmingly, warming her heart and making it flutter. It had nothing to do with Diana cheering the younger witch up, because it pained her to see her upset. Researching the words for her, trying to stop Croix from taking advantage of her. Wanting to protect her, to hold her close, shielding her from danger...  
It just wasn't possible...  
She didn't like her like that.  
To prove her point, Diana pictured hugging Akko. The feeling of her arms around her was still etched into her mind, so warm, that sense of safety...  
No!  
This wasn't right.

‘I...’

So they might be friends now, nothing more!  
She wouldn't enjoy doing things with Akko like couples did...for example kissing her.  
Flushing slightly, she tried to dismiss the image that appeared in her head, filling her with...giddy excitement?  
Wait...that wasn't supposed to happen...  
That thought should revolt her...  
But...

‘It doesn't!’

Diana blinked slowly, as the realization sunk in.

‘I like Akko…’

This was probably the worst possible time for her to get in touch with her feelings. She didn't have time for this. It would just complicate things further, but...if the brunette really liked her too...

‘Stop!’

First she had to find her. Everything else could wait.

“Where is Akko?”, she asked again, keeping her voice even, trying to get control over her own tumultuous feelings.

Sucy shrugged awkwardly.

“What did I say? Totally indifferent, but Akko of course had to defend you-”

“Answer the damn question Sucy!”, yelled Lotte suddenly, her hands balled into fists, as tears swam in her eyes.  
Wiping them away violently, she added softly:

“...please.”

Both Diana and the lilac haired witch stared startled at the shy bookworm. Glancing back and forth between them, the blonde held her breath. She had the feeling that she was intruding. This friendship seemed pretty complicated...

‘Is this how friends are supposed to be like?’

She had her little fan club and then there were her teammates, but did they actually care about her?  
Or was it just her name they were after?

Avoiding her friend's eyes, Sucy looked to the ground, appearing defeated, her shoulders slumped.

“She is probably running around the campus in search of her great Idol, Chariot”, she mumbled, her voice back to the monotonous drawl, “She has this random Idea that she is in danger, because her rod glows red, or something like that...”

Diana frowned slightly, getting lost in her thoughts.  
The Claiomh Solais glowed red?  
That sounded somewhat familiar...

‘Red...’

Red flashes...  
Red hair...  
Red eyes...

‘Chariot!’

Diana's eyes widened in shock. The images from her dreams became suddenly clear, the hazy fog that always addled them lifted. She saw it. Right in front of her inner eye.  
Chariot almost died and the rod glowed red before that too.  
The Sensorial Overload, the test...  
If it somehow was a warning signal for its wielder then...

‘Akko is in danger!’

Whirling around, she left the room hastily, speeding up her steps, almost running through the hallway. But where should she go?  
She had no Idea where Akko went?  
Professor Ursula came to her mind, but that was hardly a possibility.  
Wait...  
If the rod really glowed exactly the same way as in her dreams, then...

‘The Blue Moon Spirit!’

Woodward, recalled Diana her actual name. Wasn't she the reason Chariot almost died in the past?  
If she was behind it back then, maybe she was also planning to test Akko too...  
Only...

‘Akko is not Chariot!’

The brunette wouldn't survive a self sacrificing stunt like the redhead had. Reaching a decision, she headed towards the Blue Moon Abyss. She knew that someone could only enter there on a blue moon, but Woodward had also appeared before Chariot countless times in different places, so it might not even matter in the end. Standing at the entrance she looked around. Just like in her dream, the wind picked up, whirling green leaves around which took the form of one of the Nine Olde Witches...Woodward.  
The Blue Moon Spirit mustered her curiously.

“Diana Cavendish”, she offered as a greeting, her voice soft and kind of ethereal.

Taking a defiant stand before her, Diana replied coldly:

“Woodward, I presume.”

If the old witch was surprised by her open hostility, she didn't show it, instead inquiring in the same gentle tone that could be mistaken for warm and caring:

“Young descendant of Beatrix, why did you come to this place?”

Was she trying to play dumb? Appearing innocent in all this?  
Diana wouldn't let her.

‘You already did enough!’

“I wanted to talk to you”, she stated simply, almost glaring at the old witch.

“Oh?”

Raising her hand to keep her from saying anything, the blonde continued forcefully, putting her hands on her hips:

“I am getting straight to the point, because frankly, I don't particularly like you.  
Are you endangering Akko?”

“Young Atsuko, the wielder of the Claiomh Solais…  
She is a promising chosen one indeed”, replied Woodward vaguely, her tone changing slightly to a soothing, lulling hum.

It made Diana's head spin. She felt awfully tired all of a sudden.

‘She is using magic on me!’

But two could play that game. Drawing her wand from her belt she cast a defense spell, creating a transparent barrier between them, shielding her from the older witch's influence.

“That wasn't my question”, she retaliated calmly, even if she was seething inwardly, taking a deep breath, “Are you going to hurt her?”

The blue moon spirit seemed impressed by the blonde's skill, but didn't betray anything else.  
Mustering her even more intensely, she asked finally:

“Why would I ever do something like that?”

She was trying to provoke her, Diana realized. Trying to throw her off. She had to be more on guard than she initially thought.  
Shrugging slightly, she herself tried to appear unfazed, raising her head proudly.

“No need to hide it!”, she said coldly.

‘Time for the counter attack!’

“You already tried to kill Chariot after all.”

Woodward froze in pure shock. Unadulterated fear was radiating off of her, her eyes filled to the brim with guilt. But as soon as she lost control of herself, she got it back, schooling her features, twisting them into a fake, innocent smile.

“I never attempted to harm Chariot!”, she defended herself vigorously.

‘Now or never!’

“You destroyed a Leyline when she was in midair”, the blonde stated with brutal honesty, “what would you call it?”

The blue moon spirit's expression grew unfathomable, her eyes more guarded than before.

“...how do you know this?”, she whispered softly, but still loud enough for the Cavendish to hear.

With as much conviction as she could muster up, Diana replied sternly:

“I dreamed about it.”

But instead of confusion, or disbelief, she saw a flash of recognition flickering over Woodward's face.

“The link that binds magic itself!”, she exclaimed wistfully.

‘What?’

“Dreams?”

Inclining her head, the blue moon spirit explained calmly:

“You are gifted, young Cavendish.  
You are a witch with a natural sense for magic.”

She was what?  
That couldn't be the truth. Diana would know if that were the case.  
It was true that she excelled at magic, but she wasn't able to use it everywhere. She already tried that when she was just a child. The only time she managed to produce even a spark away from magical sources was...when she visited Japan ten years ago…  
But anything after that? Nothing.

“You mean...like Chariot?”, she found herself asking, despite it being utterly ridiculous in her eyes.

“No...”, the old witch answered, her tone dropping ever so slightly, “Chariot...was blessed from the stars.”

She didn't elaborate what she meant by that, but Diana had bigger questions at the moment.

“Even if what you said is the truth”, the blonde said with barely concealed disbelief, “that neither explains how I can literately see the past, nor does it abolish you from answering my actual question.”

Woodward blinked at that.

“You can't explain it?”, she asked mysteriously, “Don't you feel it? The disruption in the Leylines?”

She looked at her own twirling leaves and sighed.

“It began almost twelve years ago and hasn't vanished since. I don't even know where it originated. At first I thought young Croix might have been responsible, but...I was wrong.” 

 

Yes, Diana remembered her machine. It helped Chariot escape from the so called 'Void'.  
But it only had absorbed spare energy from the sorcerer's stone back then. It couldn't be responsible for disrupting a Leyline least of all more than one.

“So...”, the Cavendish pondered loudly, “it wasn't her machine that threw them into chaos.”

“It pains me to say it”, sounded the older witch's voice, startling the young girl, ripping her from her thoughts, “but yes, Croix was innocent back then.”

Croix was everything but innocent, but in that regard she probably was. Which meant it wasn't a mistake to let teenage Chariot get back to her. Speaking of which.

“My connection to Chariot from the past is due to the disruption of the Leylines...did I get that right?”, recapped Diana, trying her best not to show how tired she actually was.

She really should have rested more...

‘Concentrate Diana!’

“But why does it get stronger with every day that passes? Why does Akko amplify it even more?”

A bewildered look spread over Woodward's face.

“Are you sure it is young Atsuko and not the Claiomh Solais who is strengthening your bond?  
Magic is timeless. Maybe the rod is trying to tell you something.”

The blonde already had her suspicions about the blue moon spirit, but this confirmed it for her.  
Woodward didn't care for Akko. She may not even really like her...although that was still debatable.  
Still, if the Claiomh Solais had anything to do with this, she had to ask Akko about it.  
Akko...who was in danger!  
Anger spiked through her. She was wasting time. The old witch apparently tried to steer her off topic again.

“Yes, maybe it is trying to warn me not to trust you!”, she remarked hotly, breaking her cool demeanor.

Woodward raised her hands in a placating way, her voice suddenly warm and soothing again.

“I assure you that-”

“Did you ever confess to Chariot what you did to her?”

This question seemed to throw her off. Staring at the younger girl in panic, she wrung her hands nervously. The gesture looked oddly out of place on her.

“I...don't know how that concerns you”, she spoke in a dangerously low tone, sending a shudder down Diana's spine, but she ignored it.

Although Akko was her first priority, she couldn't forget what the blue moon spirit did to Chariot.  
Chariot, who got trapped into a coma for who knows long, no older than the brunette and herself. Just wanting to somehow get through school. She only met her once and she already wanted to protect her. So…in a way, this was Diana getting angry on her behalf.

“Chariot loved Croix more than you!  
She deemed her, her home.”

She chose those words deliberately, aiming to rattle the old witch, who looked at her as if she lost her mind, disdain clearly shining in her eyes.

“This is ridiculous”, she refuted irritated, frowning at the Cavendish, “She may have been infatuated with her for a short time, but there is no truer bond than the one between mentor and student.”

‘...is this the reason?’

No, there was no way...  
Was Woodward just jealous?

“Did she know that too?”, pressed Diana on, raising her chin defiantly, “Because I never saw or felt her think about you even once, it was always Croix. Afraid to fail her, afraid to lose her, loving her so intensely-”

“This is exactly why I had to break them apart!”, interrupted Woodward loudly, almost yelling the words. Finally losing control over her bottled emotions.

“Chariot had to stay focused”, she continued harshly, leaves whirling around her, withering away, as soon as they came in contact with her, “I needed her to succeed, she was my...”

She trailed of, her eyes losing their focus, a warped smile spreading over her face.

“My dear sparkling star.  
The first chosen one I actually approved of. The one I would guide personally...  
My little Chariot.”

‘What?’

Diana felt sick to her stomach, hearing the older witch talk like that. So obsessive. She thought Croix was bad enough, but she almost seemed harmless compared to Woodward...almost.  
For what it was worth the tech witch appeared to genuinely care about Chariot and didn't try to harm her...in the past at least.  
She shook her head in disbelief at the scene before her.

“And look how that turned out for her”, she muttered tiredly.

‘This is pointless.’

She wouldn't be able to get more information out of her. Not that she wanted to anyway. Recalling the last time she provoked someone to get some confirmations, she should count herself lucky. At the very least no one got send into a coma again.  
Sighing irritated, Diana pointed her wand towards the blue moon spirit as a warning, narrowing her eyes once more.

“Just...stay away from Akko!”, she said forcefully, as she turned around and left, never looking back.

###### July 2006

Croix was tired. Working on her research was taxing, especially when she had to keep an eye on Chariot, to stop her from jumping right into the next life threatening event. Her wounds may have been healed, but her body was still aching overall. It shouldn't surprise her. Even healing magic had its limits after all…a fact she was very aware of.  
But to be honest, what really rattled her was Woodward. Woodward who had almost got her killed just so that she wouldn't get to her girlfriend sooner. Looking back, the blue moon spirit never really liked her to begin with. She felt foolish that she ever considered her a friend, a teacher, someone who would guide them. She always ignored her, only talking to Chariot when they were all together.

‘What did I ever do to you?’

Sending a polar bear after her was just something Croix never expected to happen. She could only hope that it hadn’t been a family member of Arcas, because she might have defended herself rather harshly.  
Throwing a glance over her shoulder she saw Chariot still sprawled over her bed. Since their fight, the redhead was practically glued to her side. Not that that bothered her. At the very least it made monitoring her a lot easier, but that didn't mean she wasn't feeling guilty about it. Seeing the redhead's tear streaked face had hurt her more, than anything Woodward could ever throw at her. She should have never said those things to her, she just...

‘I love her so much...’

Chariot was always so reckless. She couldn't lose her again...  
She wouldn't! 

‘Lyonne...’

The word Chariot revived yesterday...  
Only it wasn’t the right one. As much as she didn't trust Woodward right now, Croix was sure that she didn't give them the wrong word.

‘Sybilliadura Lelladybura’

The word that was connected to history...  
The actual fifth word.  
So did that mean that Chariot skipped one?  
Was 'Lyonne' the sixth?  
Spinning the chair, the older witch faced the redhead completely.

“Say, Chariot”, she asked curiously, “how did you know of the word again? Explain it to me one more time.”

The younger witch lifted her head from Croix's pillow and blinked tiredly in her girlfriend’s direction.  
Yesterday's spell had drained her more, than they both anticipated. In the end Croix had to carry her back to school, because she almost passed out from exhaustion.

“I told you three times already, Croix”, whined Chariot sleepily, burying her face back into the pillow.

An amused smile spread over Croix's face. Sleepy Chariot was just too adorable. Getting up from the chair, she walked towards the bed, sitting down on its edge and began to pat the younger witch's head, who immediately hummed in response.

“Can't you tell me just one more time?”, whispered Croix softly, running her fingers gently through the short hair.

She loved Chariot's hair, not only was it extremely practical at this length, but also really stylish and smooth.  
The younger witch raised her head again, a weary look upon her face, which send a hurtful pang through her girlfriend. But she really needed to know. She had a nagging feeling that this was very important.

The younger witch seemed conflicted, her face scrunched up, pondering her answer.

“You promise?”, she asked finally in a small voice, that absolutely broke Croix's heart.

‘I did this to her!’

She would need to fix this, but first...

“I promise”, she said firmly, a serious expression on her face, pulling her hand back to place it over her heart.

Chariot nodded slightly, before wincing softly, her expression warping into a grimace. The small movement had apparently hurt her.

“Sorry”, she mumbled quietly in embarrassment, “but could you maybe sit somewhere else?  
I'll sprain my neck if I keep looking at you from this angle.”

Raising her eyebrows at that request, Croix chuckled lightly. Taking of her shoes, she pulled her legs up, crawling to the middle of the bed and settled next to Chariot, whose face was now as red as her hair.

“Better?”, the older witch asked smugly, winking at her girlfriend, who seemed to stop functioning for a moment, before something flickered through her red eyes, as she bridged the gap between them. 

Cuddling into her Chariot nodded again, burying her face in the crook of Croix's neck.  
An easy silence enveloped them.  
Croix didn't press on. The redhead would talk when she was ready, so they could just enjoy this moment. As if nothing had happened at all...  
Chariot's warmth was always comforting to her...

“Blue eyes...”, muttered the younger witch, interrupting the quietness.

“Blue eyes?”, repeated Croix thoughtfully.

She felt her girlfriend nod against her.

“I saw blue eyes and then I heard a voice, I think a female one.  
It only said one word: Lyonne.”

The lavender haired witch already knew this. It was her current research topic, but she just needed to confirm it one last time.

A voice out of nowhere…  
Blue eyes…  
Definitely a person!

‘So that's how it is!’

“You said the voice sounded familiar earlier, right?”, she asked, her tone still incredibly soft.

An Idea was forming in her mind.

“Yes”, mumbled the redhead, already half asleep.

A person Chariot must have encountered before…  
A voice out of nowhere…  
A connection!

Putting a bit of distance between them, Croix kissed her girlfriend's nose, startling her awake again.

“I know what happened, Chariot”, exclaimed the older witch excited, a confident smile on her lips. 

Chariot blinked owlishly at her, before the words sunk in and her eyes widened.

“Really? Croix you're amazing!”

Croix grinned brightly at the younger witch.

“First you have to know that there are three different types of witches with your ability.”

“You mean my ‘natural sense for magic’ thing?"

“Yes“, answered the older witch slightly irritated, “but don't call it a thing. It is a latent ability you slowly seem to master. Now, don't interrupt me again.”

Ignoring the apologetic smile on Chariot's lips, Croix continued enthusiastically:

“Like I said there are three types.  
Witches who can connect to every Leyline in the world, no matter how far away they are.  
Witches who can connect to individual, magical signatures of every living being on the planet.  
And witches who…actually can do both.  
The last type is the rarest. It is stated that the only representatives for this type were the Nine Olde Witches themselves.”

She paused shortly, locking eyes with the redhead.

“They called them ‘blessed from the stars’...”

When Chariot didn't react to that, she raised her hand and began to caress her cheek.

“That's you Chariot”, she whispered fondly, gazing at the younger witch with complete adoration, “You are blessed from the stars.”

Everything made perfect sense now. The stars in her eyes when they first met. Her connection to little Alcor, her ability to sense other peoples magical signatures and even establishing a link to them. Croix always knew that Chariot was special and now apparently even more than she originally expected.

‘So if she can connect to other people through magic, can she gauge their feelings too?’

This new revelation gave her plenty new Ideas for her current project. Maybe her girlfriend could actually help her with this. Analyzing emotional patterns seemed like the next logical step right now, after all the Claiomh Solais reacted based on its wielders feelings...

A disbelieving voice ripped her from her thoughts.

“That can't be true...I don't feel blessed at all...”

Focusing back on Chariot, Croix narrowed her eyes in confusion.

“What do you mean?”, she asked bewildered, seeing her distraught face.

Seemingly struggling with herself, the redhead searched for the right words.

“Because it's true, I'm not blessed, I'm cursed and you are the one I hurt the most, just like you said!”

‘Goddammit!’

Croix could kick herself. Why did she have to lose it like that yesterday?  
Chariot's self esteem already wasn't the best to begin with. She had never wanted to hurt her. She just...

‘What about my feel-?’

No!  
This wasn't about her, this was about Chariot.  
Repressing the surge of resentment that cursed through her, she kissed her girlfriend desperately, shutting her up. It earned her a surprised gasp from the younger witch, rendering her completely speechless.  
Breaking the kiss, Croix gazed at her with all the warmth she could muster.

“You are a blessing, Chariot!”, she whispered to her, “Didn't I tell you to stop talking bad about yourself?”

Bumping her nose against the redhead's, she brushed a strand of hair out of her face, an encouraging smile on her lips.

“A believing heart is your magic, right?”, she continued in an upbeat tone, “So show me one of those dazzling smiles of yours.”

Pulling back slightly, Chariot wiped her eyes, an indication that she were close to cry before, and tried to force a smile. It ended up in a grotesque grimace, her eyes tired and small.  
Croix shook her head.

“No, that's not it”, she commented, still keeping her voice light and playful, “try again.”

The redhead scowled at that. With sheer concentration she pulled the corners of her mouth upwards and...yawned loudly.  
Startled they both looked at each other, before Croix burst into laughter, her girlfriend following shortly behind her.

“Exactly like this Chariot”, the older witch wheezed out, trying to catch her breath in between, “You should get a stage name.”

Chariot stopped laughing at that, staring at the older witch in surprise.

“A stage name?”, she exclaimed excited, hugging Croix close to her, “Do you know a good one?”

Returning the hug, the older witch seemed to ponder this for a second, before adopting a serious expression, nodding gravely.

“Sleepy Chariot.”

Before she continued to chuckle lightly, earning her an adorable pout from her girlfriend.

‘There is the girl I fell in love with.’

“Croix”, whined the redhead embarrassed, her ears flushing a bright red, trying to escape the older witch's grasp, turning away from her.

Not softening her hold, Croix kept her close, pressing a gentle kiss to Chariot's exposed neck.

“Do you want to spend the holidays with me?”, she felt herself asking all of the sudden.

The words just tumbled out of her mouth, but she found out that she rather liked the Idea. After all they even lived in the same country. There was no need to separate.  
Chariot glanced backwards, her gaze full of doubt.

“Do you really mean that?”

Croix nodded her head.

“Of course”, she said confidently, flashing the redhead a charming smile, “I just have to work on my projects from time to time, but I would love to have you around.”

She couldn't even react, as a red blur wiggled around in her arms and crashed into her, forcing the older witch to roll on her back. If they wouldn't have been on the bed already the older witch was sure, they would have tumbled to the ground.

“I take that as a yes”, she stated amused, running her hands through Chariot's hair again, who laid on top of her, grinning sheepishly.

“You bet”, the redhead laughed. 

A real, carefree laugh that warmed Croix's heart to the bottom.

“But”, added Chariot earnestly, peeking into her girlfriends eyes with determination, “you have to let me help you with your projects. This is non negotiable!”

The older witch froze.  
Had she heard correctly?  
The redhead really wanted to help her?

A loving smile spread over Croix's face.

‘You really are a blessing!’

###### 2018

“Did you ever confess to Chariot what you did to her?”

Chariot blinked slowly. Standing in the shadows at the entrance to the blue moon abyss, she stared at the scene before her.  
What did she just witness?  
She had just wanted to bring this staff to Woodward. She never imagined Diana would be here, talking about...her?

‘My past?’

With every word she heard her head began to pound even worse.  
The Leyline dying was Croix's fault, right?  
Wasn't that what Woodward told her all this time?  
She began to shake.

“This is ridiculous, she may have been infatuated with her for a short time, but there is no truer bond than the one between mentor and student.”

‘Infatuation?!’

Croix was her everything, she loved her...had loved her so much.  
How dare Professor Woodward to make it sound like a schoolgirl crush.  
Something inside her hummed, resonated with her budding anger. She felt the rod in her hand grow hot.

“This is exactly why I had to break them apart!”

Break them...

‘ **Apart?!** ’

How…how could she do this to her?  
She was furious. What was the blue moon spirit thinking? That had nothing to do with her. It had been between her and Croix. It was their relationship after all.  
Breathing became suddenly a lot harder, she felt as if she was being constricted from within.  
The humming grew louder.

“My little Chariot.”

And just like that, everything clicked into place.  
Woodward had lied to her. And that meant...

‘Croix was innocent!’

The thought slammed heavily into her, punching her into the stomach, taking her breath away.  
The dark staff in her hand began to glow softly in a sinister red tone.

‘Croix was innocent!’

Her heart raced in her ribcage. Her whole body ached.

‘ **She was innocent!** ’

“Just...stay away from Akko!”

Chariot saw Diana turn and walking away in long strides, as if she couldn't stand the blue moon spirit's presence any longer. But it didn't really register with her. Staring at her old mentor... her old friend?, she stepped out of the shadows and towards the old witch, who's expression morphed into one of shock, as soon as she saw the young professor emerge.

“Chariot”, she exclaimed in a worried tone, glancing from her face to the rod and back again, “I am glad to see you in good health again. I heard young Croix-”

“Don't speak her name!”, interrupted Chariot hotly, gritting her teeth, “Don't you dare!”

“Chariot”, tried Woodward again, sending a burst of her soothing magic towards the distraught teacher.

The red glowing grew even stronger. Raising the staff, the younger witch dispelled the spell aimed at her, narrowing her eyes in barely concealed anger.

“You lied to me!”, she yelled, pain showing plainly on her face, as she pressed a hand to her heart.

‘It hurts so much!’

“I did what I thought was right at the time”, the old witch explained softly, an apologetic note to her tone, trying to calm Chariot down.

‘What?’

Her ears began to ring...  
Was she serious?

“I'm not yours!”, Chariot screamed, tears blurring her vision, but seeing the guilty face of her old teacher turning to shock wasn't making her feel better.

‘Croix...’

Woodward’s face became troubled, her voice toning down to a soothing tone:

“I apologize. It was never my intend to hurt you.”

‘Hurt me?’

“You almost killed me!”

Gritting her teeth even more, she balled one hand into a fist and tightened the grip on the rod, as she shouted:

“Children died in that ‘test’! And you had the audacity to blame it on Croix?  
Did you want me to fail that badly?”

“Like I said before”, repeated Woodward calmly, “I never wanted you to fail. I wanted you to succeed...”

“Well”, drawled the young teacher almost mockingly, “maybe you should have thought about that before you robbed me of my only support system!”

“I-“

“ENOUGH!”

Panting heavily, she heard her pulse hammer in her ears. She needed to calm down...to focus...

Croix, you’re injured!

Wait!  
No!  
That…that simply wasn’t possible!  
It…couldn’t be true!  
She had a terrible suspicion...  
Locking eyes with the old witch she reached a decision.

“I'm going to ask you something”, she said coldly, not breaking their eye contact, “and if you don't tell me the truth you will never see me again!”

Woodward would never see her again regardless what she did now, but she didn't need to know that.

“What do you want to know?”, asked the blue moon spirit, her expression unfathomable.

“That time when I unlocked the sixth word, Croix was hurt...”, stated Chariot tensely, closing her eyes, hoping against all odds that she was wrong, “Tell me that wasn't your doing!”

It felt like an eternity before Woodward finally answered:

“I...needed time to speak with you...alone...  
The bear was just supposed to keep her away to occupy her.  
I didn't mean for her to get injured.”

Something inside Chariot snapped. Broke apart, just like her relationship with Croix did.  
Then...came the anger!

“I don't believe you!”

Everything hurt!

“Chariot”, Woodward whispered softly, only to be ignored by the young teacher.

“You...you hurt Croix...”

There was a burning inside her, spreading through her whole body. She could feel her magic building up, connecting her to the rod she carried. Something clicked into place, like a long lost puzzle piece she never knew she lost.

“Chariot!”, the old witch's voice sounded alarmed, but again Chariot ignored it.

“You took everything from me!”

She could have been happy if it weren't for Woodward's awful meddling.  
The air around her began to crackle with magic, hot and angry, the rod glowing brightly in her hand.

“No, Chariot, this staff-”

Chariot's hair flashed red.

“Noctu...Orfei...”

“Chariot stop!”

A blinding light enveloped the rod.

“Aude...”

“Don't do this!”

‘You ruined my life!’

**“FRAETOR!”**

Magic burst from the staff, transforming it into a distorted version of her once so beautiful Shiny Arc...  
But she didn't care about beautiful right now.  
She didn't care about making everybody happy with a smile.  
The whole world betrayed her.  
Her so called fans...  
Her teachers...  
Her mentor...  
She was all alone now...  
Gripping the bow forcefully she aimed it at Woodward, who still seemed to talk to her...  
Not that she understood what she said…  
Her ears were still ringing so loudly...

‘I...just want to go home...’

And with that thought...she fired...and her whole vision turned red.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I would have posted this days ago, but my laptop had a forced shut down  
> in the middle of me writing this chapter...thanks Windows 10 :/  
> That'll teach me to keep back ups...  
> Anyway, this chapter was a train wreck to write, but I still hope you'll like it.  
> Thank you guys for reading my story, you're all awesome!  
> Enjoy^^

###### 2018

Browsing through the book Diana had given her, Akko was restless.  
Chariot was in danger!  
She had to find her immediately. Without her Shiny Rod, who knew what could happen to her...?  
Not that she thought the redhead was helpless to the contrary, but...

‘I have to warn her!’

And she had to do it alone. Diana couldn't help her, she was already stressed enough as it was and Professor Ursula...  
Professor Croix did say she would wake up soon, but the brunette couldn't wait that long. Not when the life of her Idol depended on it.  
Scribbling more notes down on her scattered papers she tried to come to a conclusion, some revelation, a hint where Chariot could have disappeared to. A place where no one had found or recognized her as she searched for the last word...  
Akko could faintly hear the door closing with a thud which prompted her to look up from her reading material, peering over her notes. Lotte seemed to have left the room, leaving her alone with Sucy, who stared at her with a bored expression, sitting on her bed.

“What are you doing?”, she asked with clear disinterest in her voice.

Twirling the pen in her hand, Akko answered with a resigned sigh:

“I have to find Chariot. The Shiny Rod is glowing and Croix-Sensei said, it means that she is in danger.”

Sucy blinked slowly.

“I see...”, she drawled, not betraying anything else, her gaze settling on the red book at their desk.

The brunette felt a light prickle on the back of her neck, making her shrug awkwardly. Something was wrong. She couldn't really say what, but it unnerved her. A deep uncomfortable feeling spread through her whole body. Slamming the book shut Akko looked at her startled friend, establishing eye contact.

“Are you okay?”, she asked concerned.

To be honest she was somewhat afraid of the response, but when the lilac haired witch nodded her head, reaffirming that she was in fact alright, she would have preferred a straight out answer. Her bad feeling grew even stronger.  
Motioning to the now closed book, Sucy apparently had decided to continue their previous topic.

“If you want to find Chariot, why don't you just ask ‘Diana’?”, she wondered loudly, uttering the blonde's name with something akin to contempt, her voice practically oozing resentment.

‘How odd.’

It was true that the both of them weren't friends, but Sucy had always somewhat respected the blonde witch in her own way. So...

‘What happened?’

“Did she do something?”, the brunette pressed on softly.

Not that she believed that Diana truly had wronged her friend, or intended to anger her, the thought alone send a cold shudder down her spine.  
Maybe it was just a misunderstanding...some kind of miscommunication?  
That would totally be in character for the blonde. Her blunt honesty wasn't always a blessing. It could definitely hurt a lot...  
Now that she thought about it, wasn't Sucy kind of the same way?  
Harsh but honest?  
Only with Diana it was still a bit different...somehow...

‘Please get better soon!’

“What didn't she do?”, interrupted the lilac haired witch Akko's thoughts, a faint edge creeping into her tone, “You said it yourself, remember?  
Always looking down on others, you especially, and belittling your beloved Shiny Chariot, not even acknowledging how hard you really work for your goal.  
Besides, she is an Aristocrat, did you forget that?”

Akko's eyes widened in shock. Yes, this was what she had believed the proud Cavendish to be. A spoiled, rich girl with a superiority complex, who never had to lift a finger to get through life.  
The perfect prodigy.  
But...

‘I was wrong!’

She stood up from her desk, facing her friend sternly and put her notes down, her grip on the pen tightening. Sucy looked at her expectantly, still sitting on her bed with crossed legs, refusing to even blink once.

“That's not who she is at all”, said Akko passionately, a soft smile spreading over her face.

Her heart fluttered slightly, as she thought about the beaming, unguarded smile Diana had given her when they both had tried to convince principal Holbrook of their fix Idea that they could take care of Professor Ursula.

‘So beautiful...’

“Stop grinning like an idiot, it's creeping me out”, uttered Sucy irritated, rolling her eyes at the brunette, as she clicked her tongue in annoyance.

But Akko couldn't stop even if she wanted to. She couldn't stop, not when every mention of the blonde's name made her giddy with happiness. She didn't know where it came from, but she liked it.  
She liked the way Diana made her feel. How she always seemed to be able to elicit the most over exaggerated responses out of her...  
Her silence seemed to rattle her friend, making her uneasy.  
Shifting on the bed, Sucy uncrossed her legs and hugged them close, pulling her knees against her chin.

“You're still doing it!”, she pointed out frustrated and narrowed her eyes slightly, fixing her with a stare that could only be described as deadly, “Cut it out, or I might get the Idea that you like our school prodigy a bit too much!”

‘Huh?’

Akko was lost. Deciding to twirl the pen in her hand again, she pondered over what Sucy had said.  
It sounded awfully similar to the question Professor Croix had asked her and her answer definitely hadn’t changed since then.

“I do like Diana”, she said vigorously, pointing the pen at her friend, as if to make a point, “She may be reserved and sometimes brooding, but she has a passion for magic like no one else. And she's hardworking and understanding, even if it takes you a while to get it and she's unspeakably kind to an impossible degree and...I really like her!”

Breathing in harshly the brunette stopped talking, trying to calm her raging emotions down and stared at her friend intensely, who's mask finally cracked. Unadulterated devastation could be seen at her falling face. Hugging her knees even tighter, she tried to hide her shaking fists.

“Why?”, she asked lowly, almost inaudible.

Akko's expression grew concerned, a confused look in her eyes, as she tried to figure out what just happened. What had upset Sucy like this? Her reasoning for liking Diana? Because she defended her?

“Why?!”, repeated the lilac haired witch loudly, accusingly even.

The brunette's eyes widened.  
What was going on here?

Her friend didn't seem to want an answer to the question. Grabbing her blanket, she pulled it over her head, enveloping herself in it, as if to shield herself from Akko's presence.

“Just go!”, sounded the muffled voice of Sucy.

A pang of sadness surged through her. Why did her friend treat her like this?

“What-”, she tried to ask desperately, but the lilac haired witch ripped the blanket from her head and glared at her, almost screaming:

“I said go!”

Slowly Akko walked back to the desk, scooping her things together, throwing them into her bag. Shouldering it, she made her way towards the door, hanging her head. She still didn't get what she had done wrong...  
As she opened it, the sound of rustling sheets could be heard and quiet, but unmistakably angry, the voice of Sucy called after her venomously:

“When she hurts you, don't come crying to me!”

 

Akko didn't know how she got outside. Her feet just carried her through the hallway towards the green grass on the school ground. She was so lost right now. What had happened? She couldn't explain it.

‘Diana...’

Maybe the blonde could tell her what she had done wrong. But she was probably just as bad as herself in picking up on other people’s emotions. She needed someone else. Someone she could trust...  
Someone like...

‘Croix-Sensei?’

Akko hadn't paid any attention to where she was going, so when she suddenly spotted the aloof Professor under a tree she almost crashed into a pair of book carrying witches, who she guessed came from the library. Dodging to the right in the very last minute, she evaded a surely unpleasant encounter and staggered in the tech witch's direction.  
Anger spiked through her, as she realized why the sight of her irritated her so much.  
What was she doing here? Didn't she say she had to take care of Professor Ursula?  
Wait! In fact she should do that right now, instead of loitering around on the school grounds.  
Akko needed Ursula to get better. She needed her mentor back...

‘I...just want to hear your voice again.’

The setting sun ignited the sky, shrouding the grounds in warm, inviting, orange light, illuminating Professor Croix's face, as she stared into nothingness, a Smartphone in her hand. A breeze ruffled her unruly hair and a faint smile adorned her face. One of her rare true ones, as Akko realized. She appeared to be lost in thoughts, maybe reliving some good memories. The brunette found herself unable to speak. She didn't want to interrupt this moment of openness, as Croix's voice reached her ears, still gazing at the colorful sky, an unusual softness to her tone.

“I met Chariot here, right under this tree, asking me to see one of her magic shows.”

The tech witch turned her head towards Akko, motioning for her to sit next to her. Dropping to the ground, the brunette crossed her legs, staring at her professor in wonder. She felt conflicted. Her desire to learn more about Chariot warred against her need to scold the Professor for neglecting her task, for leaving Ursula alone. But in the end her curiosity won. She had to get more Intel on her Idol, if she wanted to find her and Croix seemed to be her best chance to get it. 

“That was twelve years ago”, the older witch added wistfully, returning her gaze towards the evening sky, humming quietly.

A strange melody the brunette had never heard before. 

‘I have to hurry!’

“Sensei...”, Akko asked carefully, trying not to sound too accusingly, “do you really not know where she is?”

Croix glanced at her out of the corner of her eyes, the warmth in her eyes dissipating, replaced by her cold and calculated stare, the brunette had slowly become acquainted with, making her shudder inwardly.

“Why?”

A predatory grin spread over the tech witch's face, as she drawled in a highly amused tone:

“Would it bother you if I did?”

All those mixed signals the Professor gave her, made Akko's head spin. It was like playing a game of cat and mouse and she always ended up being the rodent. On one hand, Croix could be really cool and funny and collected and smart and...just everything she would wish a teacher to be, on the other hand she appeared to be just as uncaring as caring, switching between those extremes. She was kind of arrogant...maybe even selfish, when the younger witch thought about it, but still...at least she tried to be a sympathetic instructor, which couldn't be said for the rest of the teaching staff.  
Straightening herself up, she fumbled to find the right words.

“I-...that doesn't matter Croix-Sensei!”, she stated urgently, a serious expression upon her face, “Right now we have to get to Chariot before something happens to her!”

‘That got through her!’

It seemed her speaking Chariot's name always sobered the tech witch up from whatever emotional state she appeared to be in. Her eyes darkened slightly, her grin lost, as she questioned coolly:

“Whatever do you mean?”

“Did you already forget?”, shot Akko back, suppressing a pout.  
This was important after all!  
“You told me that she is in danger.”

Untying the redhead's staff from her belt, which gems still glowed in a soft, red tone, she held it towards her Professor.

“The wielder of the Shiny Rod.  
Don't you want to help her?  
She is your friend after all!”

Turning her head fully, the tech witch stared at Akko unfathomable, shaking her head lightly, adapting a warm and placating tone, ignoring the rod between them.

“Say Akko...”, she began hesitantly, “could it be that you misunderstood what I said?”

“I definitely remember you telling me ‘its owner’, and that's Chariot, so...why are you laughing?  
This is serious!”

Still shaking her head, Croix had leaned her back against the tree and chuckled hollowly, filling Akko with dread, as she lowered her hand, letting the rod dangle at her side.

‘Did I say something wrong again?’

She never seemed to know. The situation with Sucy flashed through her mind, but she tuned it out. It wouldn't do her any good to become distracted now.  
As the tech witch quieted down again, she threw Akko an apologetic look.

“Sorry”, she drawled, sounding anything but, “my bad, but do you really think that if her life was threatened by something, I would just sit here twiddling my thumbs?”

‘Yes!’

Well, normally no...  
Akko just didn't know anymore.  
When it came to Croix she just couldn't trust her instincts. They seemed to misfire whenever the Professor was concerned. Right now she only wanted her Ursula back...  
Annoyed, she glared at her teacher, muttering darkly:

“Well, you're not exactly doing much to help Ursula-Sensei, even after you promised me you would so...”

As soon as those words left her mouth, Akko clamped her hands over it.

‘Oh no!’

The tech witch didn't comment on her outburst, a neutral expression upon her face.  
Shrinking slightly away, the brunette wrung her hands nervously, gripping the Shiny Rod harder.

“Sorry...”, she mumbled dejected, as she hung her head, missing the flash of recognition, that flashed through Croix's eyes, “I didn't mean to say that out loud...I just had a really crappy day.”

An uncomfortable silence enveloped them.  
Until Akko felt a warm hand on her head. Startled she looked up again. The tech witch had apparently moved from the tree and scooted closer to her student, kneeling before her.

‘Is this some kind of teacher thing I don't get?’

Head pats?  
But only Professor Croix and Professor Ursula seemed to give them...  
Maybe that was why she couldn't really be mad at the older witch. Why she still trusted her, regardless her confusing nature. They did exactly the same when trying to lighten her mood and Akko was thankful for that.

“I'm sad to hear that”, Croix said compassionately and it seemed as if she really meant it this time, flashing her student an encouraging smile, “But maybe I can help to cheer you up.”

Her smile morphed into a self-satisfactory grin. 

“Regarding your accusation of me shirking my duty as a caretaker…Ursula-Sensei is already awake!”

‘Really?’

“What?!”, Akko yelped loudly. 

And before her teacher could react, she jumped to her feet and ran towards the New Moon tower, crossing the yellow stone bridge, until someone grabbed her arm, yanking her to a sudden stop.

“No Akko, you can't see her right now!”

Professor Croix had apparently followed her, looking at the brunette sternly. She threw a quick glance to the Smartphone in her hand with a pleased smile, until she fixed Akko again, adapting a serious expression.

“Why?”, whined the younger witch impatiently.

She didn't want to wait any longer. She just wanted to see the blue haired teacher.

“I'm sure she wants me to visit her.”

Sighing softly, the tech witch loosened the grip on her arm, her eyes softening slightly.

“That may be so, but she just woke up”, she explained gently, “She is still weak and disoriented. Give her till the next morning. Ursula needs her rest.”

Akko paused at that, her face falling. Croix was right, Ursula needed to recover. If she just barged in and demanded to speak with her...that would be totally selfish.

“... I can definitely visit her tomorrow?”

The Professor nodded her head.

“Of course. It'll do both of you a lot of good.”

She let go of the brunette completely and leaned forward against the stone bridge's balustrade, crossing her arms, as her eyes followed the flowing river.  
Akko stared at her with mixed feelings. She had done it again. Switching between being warm and caring to distant and cold. What a rollercoaster...  
Sucy had done the same...  
Should she ask her teacher for advice?  
For all it was worth, she still wanted to try to understand her. She was at least making an effort to get to know the brunette and didn't judge her based on her magical skills.

‘I ...think I trust Croix-Sensei.’

“Sensei?”, the younger witch asked carefully, standing next to her, as she also leaned forward, folding her arms and laid her head on them. 

Exhausted, she turned it to glance at her Professor.

“Yes?”

Akko fidgeted.

‘Now or never.’

Taking a deep breath she muttered sadly, almost inaudible:

“I...normally I would ask Ursula-Sensei, but...”

At Croix's open and even concerned expression, she felt the words just tumbling out. She told her about Sucy, how she normally was, and about that strange conversation they had before she had come here. The tech witch listened to her rambling, which lacked structure and sometimes jumped from one point to another, totally unrelated, one. But she still did listen intently, taking it all in. 

“I see...”, she stated, when the brunette finished her tale, “And now you're confused, obviously.”

Akko nodded her head, grateful that her teacher took her problem seriously.

“Yes, she never did something like that. What did I do wrong?”

“Nothing.”

‘Huh?’

“You did nothing wrong”, repeated Croix, her gaze resting on Akko's face, “Your friend seems to have a problem with herself. Please don't concern yourself with that.”

“But she is still my friend”, retaliated the younger witch, lifting her head again, visibly upset.

“One more reason to give her some space”, her Professor said neutrally, turning her head back towards the river, typing something on her Smartphone. 

“She is hurting right now and as long as you don't figure out your own feelings, you will only complicate things.”

What did that mean?  
Akko scrunched up her face in confusion.

“My feelings?”

Without looking up from the screen, Croix answered seemingly distracted:

“Yes, your feelings for the Cavendish girl. You know, the romantic kind.”

‘WHAT?’

“Diana?!”, Akko screeched shocked.

Liking Diana was one thing, but that didn't mean she wanted to go out with her, or kiss her, or hold her hands, or hug her...  
Her heart was pounding madly in her chest, as she tried to steer her thoughts away from the soft feeling of the blonde's palms and how she had relaxed in her arms when she had hugged her.

‘That's right, I already did those things.’

And it felt nice doing them...as friends of course. Nothing more. As she had told Sucy, she did like Diana, yes. She was a wonderful person...a beautiful, wonderful person..., still...

“I don't have these kinds of feelings for her!”

Croix didn't even look startled by that, instead rolling her eyes, as she tried to split her focus between her student and her Smartphone, appearing slightly bored.

“Could have fooled me”, she drawled.

“No, I'm serious!”

The older witch cocked her eyebrows.

“You told me you like her.”

“As a friend”, Akko groaned exasperated, "I like her as a good friend...like you like Chariot, you know?”

Never mind the fact that she made her feel unlike any other friend she had...  
Yes, definitely ignoring that.

‘It's probably because she's my rival.’

Right, she had absolutely nothing to worry about.  
Muffled laughter reached her ear, bringing her back to the present. Professor Croix chuckled softly, looking at her with amusement.

“Sensei?”

“I thought you understood what I tried to imply before I left, but I guess I was wrong”, the tech witch said, grinning mischievously.  
“To put it bluntly, Chariot was my girlfriend!”

Chariot was her...WHAT?

“Whua?”

Akko was speechless. Chariot, her Idol Chariot, was Croix's girlfriend? But there never was any mention about that. Not on the news she had watched as a child and certainly not in her book. Besides...wouldn't that imply that the redhead left her behind?  
Just to search for some words?  
That couldn't be true! She would never do this!

‘I could never do this!’

Akko stepped away from the balustrade.

“There’s no way!”, she said vehemently, narrowing her eyes at the tech witch, "Chariot wouldn't just leave you behind if that were true!”

Croix flashed the brunette a pained smile. Straightening herself up, she towered over her dangerously, her eyes blank.

“Believe what you want Akko”, she growled softy.  
“Chariot refused to trust me, she choose to rather listen to someone else's lies and left me...”

She fixed the brunette with a piercing glare.

“She essentially broke my heart!”

Akko felt herself getting dizzy.  
That just...wasn't possible...  
Chariot wouldn't do this...  
A pang of nausea spread through and her stomach churned violently.

“I just...”, she uttered, sounding almost defeated, but she clung to her belief to the very end.  
“Why did you tell me how great she is? Why did you offer me your help to find her, if she hurt you like that?”

Croix's expression softened somewhat and the tension seemed to leave her body, letting her relax ever so slightly. A nostalgic note entered her voice as she spoke wistfully:

“...do you know how it is to almost loose someone you love? It's like a part of you is missing constantly. Just imagining to never seeing Chariot's smile again, to never hear her carefree laughter, her soft voice, was enough to paralyze me with fear. It's mind numbing, it's agonizing! I couldn't think about anything, but her. Everything else was unimportant...”

That sounded kind of dreadful, Akko surmised.  
Shouldn't love make you feel happy and not hurting you?

‘Diana wouldn't do that to me...’

Not that this was anything she could do really. After all they were just friends!  
‘...I think...’

Ignorant to her inner struggle, Professor Croix continued, albeit a little bit warmer:

“So yes, she can hurt me all she wants, because, frankly, I don't care...  
I just want to be there for her...”

Sighing softly, she allowed herself a slight smile, making Akko realize the honesty behind those words.  
And if she was telling the truth, then...

‘Chariot really left her!’

“She is the love of my life!”

The brunette's heart almost broke when she heard the sincerity in her voice. She didn't deserve to feel this way. She even saved the redhead. How could she do this to someone who cared so deeply for her?  
Fumbling to find the right words, she could only muster a shaky:

“That's-“, before a sharp yell interrupted her.

“Akko!”

Turning her head she saw Diana almost sprinting towards her with a concerned look upon her face.  
Her heart decided in that moment to ignore every order her brain had given regarding the blonde and skipped a beat. Filling the brunette with a sense of security.

“Diana? You're awake!”

‘Thank god you are.’

Coming to a halt in front of them, the Cavendish took a deep breath. Did she really run the whole way here? More importantly, shouldn't she try to save her energy?

“Shouldn't you rest more?”, asked Akko concerned, taking a step towards the blonde, “Why are you out of bed?”

“I feel fine”, Diana said with a shrug, “More pressingly, how are you?”

“Huh?”

Her?

“I'm okay I guess, why?”

The blonde opened her mouth to answer her, when she saw Croix standing behind Akko, watching them both with keen interest.

“Oh don't mind me.” 

Croix raised her hands in a pacifying way, but didn't show the slightest inclination to leave them alone.  
Cursing silently under her breath, Diana seemed to debate something, until she finally blurted out:

“You are in danger, Akko!”

Akko's eyes widened in shock.

“Me?”, she spluttered puzzled, “No, you've got that wrong, Chariot is...”

Searching for Professor Croix behind her she trailed of, as said teacher shook her head. 

“You are 'Shiny Rod's' new owner, it reacts to you.”

So that meant...

‘I am in danger?’

She wasn't able to process this right now, she needed a break.  
Scratching the back of her head she turned back to Diana, giving her a sheepish smile.

“Oh...well-”

A blinding red light filled the area, cutting Akko off. It flashed hot and angry through the air, accompanied by a deep growling thunder. Even the ground shook quite a bit.

‘What's going on?’

“What was that?”, muttered the brunette warily.

“Akko”, Diana motioned to the rod in her hand, “the staff!”

The soft, red light from its gems had now intensified, changing the tone to an almost sinister glow.  
Just what was happening here?  
A shrill scream diverted her attention back to the blonde, who had sunken to her knees, holding her head in pain.  
Akko felt her insides turn to ice.

‘No!’

“Diana?!”

Kneeling before Diana, she tried to hold her upright, searching frantically for Professor Croix. When she spotted her, she couldn't believe her eyes. She was smiling.  
She was smiling at something shown on her Smartphone’s screen, ignoring her two students in front of her.

"Sensei!", she yelled as loudly as she could, startling the tech witch out of her trance, blinking slowly at the scene before her.

Diana yelped, sending a magical shock wave through Akko, who still held tightly onto her.  
It didn't really hurt, but it wasn't comfortable either.  
Tiny, green sparks were thrown into the air, building an eerie contrast to the ominous glow from the brunette's staff. The other witch moaned in anguish.

“Diana, hey”, Akko needed to keep her awake. She felt numb. She couldn't think anymore. She only knew she had to help Diana.

“Stay with me, please!”

‘Diana!’

"Magical outbursts...", mumbled Professor Croix, who finally knelt beside her, examining the groaning girl in her arms.

The red light dimmed and disappeared and the tech witch stood again.

“She is obviously in pain”, she stated professionally, “I have an inkling what it could be.  
Akko, here!”

Typing on her Smartphone she summoned three roombas, sending one into Akko's direction, appearing to be in a hurry. 

“I'm lending you one of my roombas. Please take Miss Cavendish to the infirmary as soon as possible. I have to get something from my tower that will hopefully help her.”

Whirling around, she walked away, leaving the brunette alone with her thoughts.  
As she tried to soothe the still fitful Diana a sudden clarity overcame her.  
She couldn't lose her!  
Croix was right, they all were right.  
She really liked the blonde...and she wouldn't be too late to tell her how she felt.  
Hoisting the shaking girl on the roomba Akko guided them back to the school, a grim expression on her face.

‘I won't let anything happen to you!’

###### August 2006

“Chariot, if you don't take this seriously I will do this without you!”

Croix's stern tone let Chariot stop dead in her tracks. She and Alcor had begun to play some kind of catch game when the older witch had been busy setting up...whatever it was she had to set up and not only did they almost vandalize her room, crashing against every shelf they could find and knocking most of her things over, no, the redhead also entangled herself with those cables that were connected to her, making her tumble to the ground, where she rolled around aimlessly. Alcor on the other hand took one look on the disaster they had created and decided to flee through the open window, circling around the mansion, probably hiding himself until it was safe for him to come back. Maybe he would nest on the chimney.  
Her girlfriend's house was awesome. This wasn't the first time Chariot visited her here, but it was unusual that she could stay for the whole holidays. Normally Croix's parents would take their daughter along on some trip around the world, where she would be able to research other forms of magic more, only this year she hadn't wanted to go with them.  
A small part of Chariot was glad for that. She always missed the older witch when she was away on vacation. And now they even had the whole mansion to themselves. Coming from an old magical family had it perks from time to time. Her family definitely jumped at the prospect of her hanging out with Croix. Probably had to do with the fact that the Meridies had a lot of influence in the magical community. Although if they knew exactly how close her and the other witch were, they would surely disown her. That thought didn't even bother her. After all she already spent most of her time in England with her grandmother.

‘Would Croix's parents do the same if they found out?’

She didn't know...  
With a loud sigh, she finally gave up the hope to free herself.  
Raising her head as much as possible to look at her girlfriend she grinned sheepishly.

“I'll behave from now on, really”, Chariot said earnestly wiggling forward a little, “So...could you please free me from...this?”

Croix raised her eyebrows. Adapting a serious tone she tried to appear disgruntled, but the amusement shining in her eyes betrayed her. 

“You promise?”

The younger witch pouted at that.

“You don't believe I will?”, she asked innocently, flashing Croix a beaming smile.

“No!”, deadpanned her girlfriend, as she let her gaze wander over her demolished room.

“Croix”, whined Chariot exasperated, trying to look as pitiful as possible.

The older witch rolled her eyes.

“Fine.”

Throwing her hands in the air defeated she pointed her wand at the redhead, unraveling her with a swish of it. 

“Happy now?”, she drawled cocking her head to the side.

Jumping to her feet Chariot practically skipped into her girlfriend’s personal space, giving her a soft peck on the cheek.

“You bet”, she grinned joyfully, before she felt a sudden urge to be bold. 

Deciding to lean forward again, she claimed the older one's lips. She rarely initiated intimacy on such a level, mostly because Croix would take the lead almost immediately, but this time she seemed to hold herself back. Cupping her face with both hands, Chariot deepened the kiss, her eyes fluttering shut, relishing at the feeling it elicited in her. As if a hot fire had ignited in her belly, burning her from the inside out.

‘What am I doing?’

This wasn't the plan. She had wanted to help Croix with her research...but she really, really needed to be close to her right now.  
Breaking the kiss left her gasping for air. Diving right back in, she felt two hands on her shoulders pushing her back gently. Startled she opened her eyes again, staring at her girlfriend puzzled. 

“Don't start something you can't finish” ,warned Croix panting slightly, as she tried to put some distance between them.

Irritated Chariot pushed back against her hands, managing to bite the older witch's earlobe in response, which earned her a desperate groan. Croix slackened her grip and turned her head, nipping at the redhead's neck in retaliation.  
The younger witch felt hot, whimpering softly, as her girlfriend's teeth grazed her flesh affectionately.  
Almost jumping out of her skin when her warm tongue soothed the marred, red spot afterwards.  
Using her distracted state to her advantage Croix managed to escape her grasp, causing the redhead to mewl at the loss of her warmth.

“As much as I love where this is going”, the older witch rasped regretfully, “We really need to stop now. I didn't set everything up just so we could fool around.”

An annoyed groan ripped itself from Chariot's throat. She wanted to ignore Croix's words, wanted to just stop thinking and continue where they had left off. They could research later...  
But she stomped those feelings down. After all it was her Idea to help her in the first place.

‘What's wrong with me today?’

“Are you pouting?”, inquired her girlfriend in a teasing tone.

“...no?”, squeaked Chariot breathlessly, playing with the jumbled cables sticking out of her shirt.

The older witch sighed softly and shook her head amused.

“Whatever am I going to do with you?”

Closing the distance between them again Croix checked the cables leading to the electrodes on the redhead’s body. Taking a deep breath Chariot tried to calm herself. She didn't know why she was so riled up. Usually she was more a fan of cuddles than anything else, but today...  
Today felt off.  
She loved Croix and she couldn't say she didn't enjoy the physical intimacy they shared, but she had never felt such a need to be with her before. It actually kind of scared her.

The older witch appeared to be finished when she stepped away from the redhead and went to her laptop, motioning for her to sit on the chair next to her.

“Let us begin”, she said, trying to sound all professionally, as she started her system. 

The quiet whirring from the machine helped Chariot to cool down somewhat.  
Sighing softly she stared at her girlfriend, whose face was glued to the screen. Apparently waiting for something to happen. Her face scrunched up in concentration and the redhead found it absolutely adorable.

‘As if no time has passed...’

Just like in Luna Nova. Being with Croix always brightened up her mood.  
A loud beeping noise ripped her from her thoughts. 

“Yellow...”, stated the older witch pensively, peering over her laptop to look at Chariot.  
“How do you feel?”

Chariot shrugged awkwardly.

“Hm...”, she pondered as she gripped her chin with her hand, tapping her index finger, “Happy?”

“Are you asking or telling?”, Croix asked cocking her eyebrow.  
A small smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.

Scratching the back of her head the younger witch laughed embarrassed.

“Ah, happy, definitely happy.”

Nodding along, Croix clicked on the color chart, satisfied with her answer.

“Now...”, she said, searching for the right file as she asked neutrally, not even looking up from the screen, “could you please think about the Leyline incident?”

Did she really have to? She didn't like to think about it. All these people trapped on the tree. Falling to their deaths...  
She hadn't been able to save them all…  
If only she had acted sooner, maybe she could have made even more of a difference...

“...Blue”, Croix muttered almost coldly, typing away on her laptop, “so sadness is blue.”

Looking up from her work she saw Chariot's crestfallen face and her expression softened.  
Giving the redhead an encouraging smile she said warmly:

“Let us try something positive again.”

Sighing in relieve the younger witch threw her girlfriend a thankful look.  
She knew how Croix could get while researching and it really made her happy that she tried to think about her feelings as well.

“Okay”, she breathed gently.

Only what? What should she think about next? Maybe about their exciting adventures involving the words, or the exhilarating Luna Nova Cup, or maybe even the wonderful and breathtaking Samhain Festival?  
She glanced at Croix who was absorbed in her project. Chariot may have never let herself notice this before, but without her glasses her girlfriend looked kind of cool. Getting lost into her eyes was now even easier than to begin with. Not that she complained, frankly she was glad. She loved Croix's green eyes. How they would light up whenever she had a breakthrough in her thesis. How they twinkled like stars whenever she got a new brilliant Idea. How they drew her in like a moth to the flame.  
And without her glasses there was no barrier between them.

“Rose?”, Croix blinked irritated, filtering her notes. It seemed as if she never had this color before. Fixing Chariot with a questioning look she asked her curiously:  
“What are you thinking about?”

What had she thought about?  
Her girlfriend's eyes...

‘Oh!’

The redhead fidgeted nervously, feeling her face getting hot.

“...you”, she mumbled, almost inaudible.

The older witch flashed her a mischievous smile, just like the time she had pressed her against her desk and...  
She really shouldn't think about this right now.

The loud beeping from the machine, redirected Croix's attention back to her screen confused. Glancing from her laptop to Chariot and back again, her puzzled expression morphed into a pleased smirk as understanding flashed through her eyes.

‘Oh no!’

“Well... I guess I don't have to ask you what you're thinking about this time, huh?”

This was so mortifying!  
She threw Chariot a wink and removed her sweater shortly followed by her shirt, sending the redhead into a frenzy.

“What are you doing?”, the younger witch spluttered her face flushing as red as her hair.

She thought she had herself under control again, but the sudden spike of heat that inflamed her anew made it obvious that she was wrong. Croix's grin widened. With a swish of her wand she closed her window and wandered to her bed. Chariot couldn't help but stare at her, following her every move with her eyes. Her heart pounded madly inside her chest and she felt her mouth go dry.

“We are taking a break”, her girlfriend said playfully, sitting down on the edge of the bed. 

Extending her hand towards the redhead she beckoned her closer. Fumbling with the electrodes under her shirt, she tried to rid herself of them. Getting all except the one in the juncture of her spine and neck off, she gave it up, her concentration waning. She didn't know why she was so impatient right now.  
She was already so worked up and they hadn't even done something.

‘Wasn't that weird?’

She stumbled towards Croix who had removed her trousers as well, leaving her in her underwear. Grasping her hand shakily, the redhead was pulled forward onto the older witch's lap. A soft whimper escaped her as soon as their bodies came into contact. As if a switch had been flipped inside her Chariot pressed on, forcing Croix on her back, who smiled up at her tenderly.  
She needed to do...something...  
She felt so charged right now. She just couldn't move…as if she was paralyzed.  
Everything was so much.  
Sensing her distress, the older witch caressed her back gently, rubbing soothing circles along her spine.

“Don't bottle your emotions up, it's not healthy”, she cooed affectionately, pressing a soft kiss onto her forehead, "Just be honest with yourself."

Letting her lips wander, hovering over the shell of the younger witch's ear, she whispered hotly:

“Don't hold back!”

She kissed a soft spot behind it, dragging her teeth against the soft flesh and Chariot felt her already thin control finally snap. Surging forward she captured her girlfriend's lips fervently.  
Magic bursting through her, pulling at her senses, dragging her away. Going with her instincts she followed until she felt it.  
A familiar presence...Croix's magical signature. Normally she would ignore it. She didn't like connecting to individual magic, only doing it when she absolutely had no other choice.  
Breaking links was so much harder when feelings were involved.  
Normally she would ignore it...but this time she didn't.  
Running on impulse alone, she grabbed on.  
Light exploded before her inner eye. She could feel Croix's breathe hitch underneath her and she gasped loudly. It has never been like this. So many different emotions were running through her, threatening to overwhelm her. Chariot broke their kiss panting heavily. Her vision cleared slowly, as she gazed into her girlfriend’s wide, green eyes in wonder.

“Tu es à moi...”

The words flew out of her mouth before she could stop them, startling even herself. They sounded strange and foreign to her. She hadn't spoken French in a long time, seeing as she spend most of her time in England. But it still felt right to say them...  
As if something had clicked into place

‘Croix...’

“Je suis à toi, Chariot.”

###### 2018

Chariot stumbled heavily on her way back. With her imminent anger gone, she felt even more drained than before. After she had fired her shot, Woodward had disappeared. A cold shiver ran down her spine, as she remembered that forceful magic ripping through the Leylines, tearing on them, fueled by her own resentment...her fury. Everything in her had screamed at her to stop...but she had ignored it.  
Glancing at the rod in her hand, she continued on her path, trying her best not to fall.  
The sun had already retired for the day, painting the sky in a deep, dark blue. Raising her head, Chariot saw the first twinkle of a star, shining down on her, reminding her of green, beautiful sparks and the laughter of a young girl who had cast them with her...her wonderful shows...

‘My dream...’

Her heart grew heavy. Why did her life went so wrong?  
The only moments of true happiness she had experienced were sparse and mostly from her time before she lost the Claiomh Solais...

‘Before I failed!’

As a teacher they got even rarer. She had to find out that nothing had changed at Luna Nova from the time she visited there. The Professors, especially Finneran, were still the same, narrow minded and prejudiced witches she had the displeasure of knowing, and they treated her just as badly, as when she was a student.  
And that didn't only apply to her. Poor Akko had to go through the same treatment, just because she came from a normal family. Of course she couldn't use magic as naturally, as her classmates. She didn't even know the basics. But that didn't stop her colleagues to treat her as if she was dumb and it definitely hadn't hindered her fellow students to pick on her for that fact.  
And Diana had it even worse. All those responsibilities and expectations piled on those young shoulders. Never allowed to blunder, always having to be inexplicably perfect...

‘Just like Croix...’

Croix...  
A mix of different emotions rumbled inside her. Chariot really didn't know what to think about her now. In a way it made her a terrible girlfriend for doubting her back then, but...she hadn't really given her any indication that she said the truth when she confronted her.  
And it definitely didn't absolve her from what she did to Helena...and making her-

‘Stop!’

She couldn't follow this train of thought. It would only leave her more miserable.  
Still...  
The redhead couldn't help but wonder…  
If Woodward hadn't interfered...  
If she had just believed in Croix enough...  
Maybe it wouldn't have come to this!  
Thinking about her old mentor ignited the flames of anger anew. The rod in her hand pulsed hotly, sending a powerful mix of magic and rage through her whole body. Chariot gasped and stumbled, crashing to the ground. She tried desperately to lose the staff, to throw it away from her, but she couldn't. It was, as if an invisible force restrained her. She immediately froze.  
No!  
This wasn't happening!

‘Not again!’

Every attempt to cut her connection to the rod was met with resistance. She couldn't rip herself from this thing...  
She was trapped!

“Didn't I tell you, you wouldn't like the consequences, Chariot du Nord?”

Panicked, Chariot quickly raised her head staring at the person in front of her with wide eyes.

‘Croix!’

The other witch's appearance sparked an avalanche of contradicting emotions inside her, making the rod's gems flash in different colors. Intrigue flitted through Croix's eyes as she noticed the shining staff in Chariot's hand. Standing above her she smiled smugly down at her ex-girlfriend.  
The redhead ground her teeth in frustration trying to reign her traitorous feelings in.

“What did you do to me, Croix?”, she asked bitingly, hoping to keep the longing out of her voice that overcame her when she uttered the other witch's name.

“Me?”, Croix feigned innocence, still grinning at Chariot, “I didn't do anything. I even told you not to touch my Chronosphere.”

“Chronosphere?”  
The younger Professor blinked confused.

“That's the name I've given it”, explained the tech witch proudly, a playful note entering her tone. 

“Pretty poetic don't you think?”, she added with a charming wink.

Was she serious?  
Did she actually try to flirt with her right now?

“Stop joking around!”, Chariot retaliated testily, “This is not a laughing matter!”

But that didn't stop the blush that crept onto her face.

‘What's wrong with me?’

Her feelings were all over the place right now.  
Croix's smirk widened.

“Isn't it?”, she taunted her, seemingly satisfied with herself.

Sighing dramatically, she adapted a mock serious expression throwing her hands up theatrical. 

“You're right", she spoke humbly, “so tell me, who was it?”

Chariot found it hard to concentrate, as the tumult inside of her didn't let up. Staring at the older witch in confusion she could only utter:

“Who was what?”

Prompting Croix to laugh coldly, every trace of her playful demeanor gone, as she crossed her arms, a stern expression on her face.

“Don't play dumb Chariot. Who did enrage you enough to actually activate my rod?”

So that's what she was after.  
Of course.  
There was no way she would tell her what she did to Woodward.  
Woodward who betrayed her and made her life unbearable for ten, long years.  
Who lied to her saying it was for her own good.

'I don't regret it!'

Her own thoughts startled her. She didn't understand how she was still that riled up.  
This was not the time to let her emotions run rampage she had more important things to do. The rod send another pulse of magic through her, pulling at her senses.

“That doesn't matter”, Chariot gritted out irritated.  
How do I break the connection with it?”

She raised her shaking hand from the ground that still gripped the staff tightly.  
Croix seemed to contemplate her answer, before she shrugged. Relaxing her posture somewhat she knelt in front of the redhead. Seeing the same longing Chariot felt reflected in her ex-girlfriend's deep, green eyes, made her swallow with anticipation.

‘This needs to stop!’

“Simple, you can't!”

‘Huh?’

Smiling brightly at her shocked expression the older Professor took the redhead's outstretched hand and guided it back towards the ground continuing, almost softly:

“I created Chronosphere specifically for you. When you tried to shield Akko from me you connected to my SSS. It gave me the last thing I needed.”

She didn't like were this was going.  
Croix wouldn't...  
She wouldn't...

“What?”, Chariot asked quietly, her voice cracking, as she closed her eyes in a desperate attempt to escape her predicament.

‘Please don't say it!’

“An opening! I transmitted its magical signature directly into you.”

It was as if the other witch had just punched her. Her breathing stuttered, making her almost choke, until she felt a warm hand in the back of her neck, anchoring her. Blinking bewildered she saw Croix smiling at her as she run her fingers in a circling motion over the soft flesh, sending a shudder down her spine.  
Chariot wanted, no, needed her to stop. She should pull away, she really should, but...her body didn't listen to her.

“You planned this?!”, she managed to spit out.

How could she have been this stupid?  
Croix's smile grew even wider.

“Of course”, she said teasingly, letting her hand wander to the redhead's cheek, caressing it gently, “well not everything. But you played wonderfully into my hands.”

A short, almost taunting laugh rung in Chariot's ears as the older Professor added mockingly:

“To think I only needed to use reverse psychology on you.”

Finally gaining enough control over her body again the redhead used her last strength to rip herself from the warm and comforting hand on her cheek, flinching backwards.  
Her momentum nearly let her fall on her back. She steadied herself in the last minute and sighed relieved. Sitting on the ground she sunk into herself looking at everything but her ex-girlfriend.  
A spark of anger surged through her.  
What was wrong with Croix?  
She switched from flirting to belittling her in under a minute.  
She didn't know how much longer she could handle her antics.

**‘That's enough!’**

“Why?!”, she yelled irritated, forcing herself to lock eyes with the older witch again.  
Why are you doing this to me?  
First Woodward-Sensei and now you! Why is everyone trying to force me into things I don't want?”

“Woodward-Sensei?”, repeated Croix slow and deliberately, her face dull and lifeless, as she uttered the name.

‘Goddammit!’

Understanding flashed through her eyes and her blank mask warped into a self-righteous smile.

“So you finally saw through her lies. I must say I'm impressed she actually confessed this time.”

She gave Chariot a piercing almost…scrutinizing? glare. If someone looked close enough, they could see the underlying pain there. She was still hurt.  
Of course she was...  
Guilt bubbled inside her and she had to stamp down the urge to break down in front of her and beg for her forgiveness. They were too far gone for this.

‘I owe her an apology at the very least.’

“Croix..”, she managed to squeak out, before she stopped and cleared her throat, continuing in a much firmer voice, “I'm sorry I didn't believe you back then...but this doesn't change a thing. You need to stop this!”

Shaking her head in disbelief Croix scooted closer, her eyes practically radiant.

“Oh, but it changes everything, don't you see? You just **need** to listen to your heart this time Chariot!”

‘My heart?  
...  
Wait!’

The staff...  
Her uncontrollable emotions...  
Could it be?

“What...are you doing to me?”

Her voice finally broke as tears blurred her vision, leaving Croix as nothing more than a fuzzy shape.  
It was too much!  
She wanted her back. She wanted them back!  
It was so unfair.

“Nothing.”

It was only one word. Not even a whole sentence and it kind of sounded as if Croix was…disappointed? , but it send a shiver down her spine. She didn't want to hear this. It couldn't be true.  
The older witch leaned closer again, invading her personal space, keeping their faces only millimeters apart.  
But she didn't try to touch her. Not this time.  
Blinking her tears away violently, Chariot peered into those contradicting green eyes, which, right now, were warm and welcoming.  
It would be so easy to bridge the distance between them...

‘So easy...’

“This is all you Chariot”, Croix whispered gently, maintaining their eye contact, “I only made sure you wouldn't ignore your feelings...again.”

Giving her an affectionate smile she raised her voice again, seemingly satisfied with herself as she added:

“By the way, I don't think it's good for your health to be up and running right now. Akko will have my head tomorrow, if you look too beat up. We should head back.”

A pained expression spread over Chariot's face.  
Akko.  
She had to talk to her, before...

As she tried to scramble back to her feet she immediately realized that it was futile. She had no energy left. It already cost her every ounce of willpower to keep sitting like this.  
Croix didn't seem surprised by her stillness and looked expectantly at her, causing the redhead to scowl. Chuckling slightly she leaned even closer, to the younger Professor's ear, and whispered hotly:

“Want me to carry you?”

**No!**

Everything in her screamed at her to say it. Maybe the tech witch would even leave her alone then. She would be able to calm herself down a bit and then formulate a plan on how to deal with this new situation and...  
She felt Croix's warm breath on her ear tickling her.  
Her heart raced madly inside her chest, trying to break itself out of its cage.  
She should, no, had to say, no!

She-

‘Who cares about the consequences?’

But-

‘I still love her!’

Even if that was true she was-

‘Be honest!’

Something inside of her gave up. She just couldn't fight anymore.  
Maybe tomorrow...  
She felt herself falling forward against Croix's chest, her eyes fluttering shut as a familiar warmth enveloped her. Sighing contently Chariot waned, murmuring an almost inaudible:

“Yes...”, as a pair of arms hugged her closer.

‘I'm home...’

###### 

**French to English**  
Tu es à moi - You're mine  
Je suis à toi - I'm yours


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well...what can I say? I'm really sorry about the delay.  
> My life is a goddamm rollercoaster right now.  
> As some of you already know, I'm kinda homeless right now and I'm not sure  
> how soon that will Change. I'll still try to update here and there, but I don't know  
> how much time I can invest in writing right now.  
> Anyway, I hope some of you will still read my story.  
> I promise the next chapter will not take nearly as Long as this one.  
> Enjoy^^

###### 2018

Diana was lost.  
She had lost sight of Alfred in that thick crowd, or maybe he had lost sight of her...  
It didn't matter. She was all alone now...  
So she had wandered around, searching for the familiar face of her caretaker.  
She would have asked if someone had seen him, but the people here spoke so funny. So fast and...just different. She couldn't understand them at all...

‘I want to go home!’

The street she was walking on was dark. Only a few lanterns shone dimly, casting deep shadows over the blonde haired girl. Why had she begged her mother to come here?  
She should have just accepted defeat when her father had said no to her. Even her aunt had laughed tauntingly at her childish wish. But her mother wanted to make her happy. Wanted her to have this chance to see her Idol live and Diana loved her for it. Shiny Chariot's show was so pretty, so beautiful.

‘She is so awesome!’

She never thought she would regret coming here. The show was so much fun. In the crowd, there had been a girl who screamed even louder than her when Chariot finally descended on the stage.   
And she had given it her all...  
Just why could no one understand her? Why did those other children at home make fun of her because she loved magic and Shiny Chariot? Why could her father never see past his reputation?  
Why did it seem like her fault that her parents fought all the time?

‘What's wrong with me?’

A faint beeping noise ripped her from her thoughts and she turned around startled...but no one was there. The street was empty. Feeling uneasy she hugged herself, trying to find some sort of comfort, as she continued on her path with wary eyes. Something zoomed past her head, grazing her ear and she froze. Slowly she turned her head slightly, glancing behind her...  
And gasped in shock, her eyes wide with fear.

It was the dragon from the show!

How did she not notice him before?  
Why hadn't she heard him?  
Where did he even come from?

The dragon spread its wings menacingly and growled intimidating, towering over the small girl.

‘GO!’

Diana didn't think twice, she ran. It may be futile to outrun a beast like this, but she had to try it.  
Her heart raced madly inside her chest. She would never make it. Someone needed to help her!  
Someone...

[Wake up!]

Someone...  
Her vision grew fuzzy, her ears began to ring and then...  
She saw the most wondrous thing she had ever seen.  
Strings.  
Beautiful colored strings everywhere.  
They surrounded her, spanning from different points and angles, a soft glow emanating from them.  
Where did they come from?  
A loud growl behind her made her hair stand on end. She had to hurry.  
Her legs trembled, as she tried to keep up her pace. Her eyes began to drop...  
She was so tired. It was probably past her original bed time.  
She stumbled, but managed to keep her balance, still running as fast as she could. Those strings were irritating. She didn't know where she was going with them impeding her field of view.  
An especially bright one called her attention. It appeared to be near, originating from somewhere at her right.  
Diana decided to follow it. Cutting to the right sharply, she changed her course, her eyes focused on the glowing strand before her. But it was still so far away and it even appeared to be moving into the wrong direction.  
She could hear the dragon behind her, the flapping of its wings, trailing her.  
Just what did it want from her?

[You really need to wake up, Diana!]

Breathing became harder and harder. She couldn't keep this up anymore. In a desperate attempt she threw her hand forward, trying to grab the glowing string, to stop it from going even farther away from her, as she screamed with her last strength:

“HELP!”

A warm feeling enveloped the girl. Her outstretched hand began to tingle and a bright, white light flashed before her inner eyes, causing her to stumble again. Only this time, she wasn't able to steady herself and with a loud yelp, she crashed to the ground. At the same time something else slammed violently into her. A relentless onslaught of...sadness?...grieve?...longing? It rendered her motionless and threatened to overwhelm her.

‘What's going on?’

It hurt!   
All those contradicting signals her brain received made her want to scream loudly.  
But she couldn't!  
She tried to concentrate on the coolness of the ground seeping through her clothes and her slightly battered face. Instead she felt hot tears escaping her eyes, leaving a burning trail along her flesh, as they rolled down her cheeks.  
And then...it stopped.  
Not immediately, no. Slow and softly, as if someone was shielding her from those uncontrollable emotions.  
Diana's vision began to clear again. With most of the pain gone, she groped around, trying to orient herself.  
Where was the dragon?  
As soon as she had thought this, a low growl sounded right above her head. The girl’s eyes widened in shock, but she couldn't move. She was petrified.

‘Mommy!’

“DIPHULANIADO!”

The yell seemed to have broken her paralyze. Turning herself around quickly, she managed to catch a glimpse of the giant dragon above her exploding into millions of small pieces in a flash of green light. The loud rumble from the explosion echoed throughout the dark street.  
Before Diana was able to process what just happened a figure towered over her, extending a hand to help her up. Even in the dimly lit street the girl was able to make out the bright, red color of the person's hair. Though…the way she wore her grey hoodie, the hood over her head, she apparently tried to conceal that fact.

“It's gone now.  
You don't have to be afraid anymore.”

The redhead's voice was warm, her red eyes locking with Diana's blue ones. The girl couldn't do more than stare awed, open mouthed at her savior.

“Are you hurt somewhere?”, asked the hooded person, clearly concerned.

She knew that voice, she actually had heard it only a few hours ago.

‘It couldn't be...’

“Sh-shiny Chariot?”

[DIANA CAVENDISH!]

‘What?’

The scenery before her faded out. The dark street, her kind savior...herself too, until the only thing she could see was white. White wherever she looked. She seemed to float through nothingness.  
Where was she?  
What was this place?  
The last thing she remembered was talking with Akko about the Shiny Rod. A bright red light had illuminated the campus grounds and then...pain.  
It had erupted suddenly inside her and swept her off her feet. She was wholly unprepared for the wave of magic that had hit her. That alone would have been more than enough, but it also came entangled with so much hurt, anger...betrayal?  
Letting her gaze wander, she tried to shake the last remnants of her dream off.  
What even was it about?  
Her past?  
She had never met Chariot as a child, so that didn't seem plausible.  
Was it a misconception?  
Did she perhaps mistake the child as herself?  
But Alfred was her caretaker back then...and she did attend the show in Japan...

‘Strange...’

Never minding the fact that this whole scene was highly unlikely to have happened, this was the first time she had been dreaming about her own past...

‘As if it was trying to show me something...’

[That is correct!]

Diana looked around warily.  
Then, right there before her very eyes, the white surface began to ripple, like unruly water, glowing in a soft green hue, as a presence emerged from its center. At first, she believed it to be Woodward, but as soon as she saw the long curly hair typical for the Cavendish family she corrected herself. In front of her stood without a doubt her ancestor, Beatrix Cavendish, also known as Beatrix the affectionate, one of the Nine Olde Witches, the founders of Luna Nova.  
To say the blonde was speechless was a grave understatement.

‘E-elder Beatrix’, she stammered flustered, or rather she tried to say it, but no words could be heard.

Just like it had been that time with Chariot.  
How strange...

‘So it really is ‘the void’ after all’, mused Diana, looking around as she tapped her chin thoughtfully.

[Not exactly.]

‘Pardon?’

She totally forgot that she wasn't able to think silently anymore. How inconvenient.  
If Beatrix knew what she thought right now, she didn't comment on it. Instead she decided to explain her statement, to Diana's wonder and appreciation.

‘Why couldn't have Woodward been that straightforward?’

The blonde cleared her throat slightly embarrassed, as her ancestor's glowing eyes narrowed at her little jab. She apparently didn't like her criticizing the Blue Moon Spirit.

[That place you visited to help Chariot was a violent and hateful one], she said nonetheless in a calm and collected manner, [chaining her to its magical core. You however are not trapped right now.]

Diana blinked.  
Trying to shake the feeling of dread that spread slowly through her...

‘So why am I here then?’

She had a bad feeling about this...

[I need you to listen, little unicorn], the elder continued, blatantly ignoring her question, [Your world is in grave danger. Time is unraveling as we speak!]

‘Time... is unraveling?’, the blonde repeated blankly.

Was this Croix's doing?  
Her dreams of the past...  
That project, Chronosphere...  
Time...  
But what would she get from destroying time itself?  
More importantly, why was Beatrix telling her this?  
Diana felt numb.  
She couldn't even stop the tech witch from getting her hands on Professor Ursula. Croix's mind was a lot sharper than hers.  
She couldn't compete with that...  
She had tried that already and failed miserably.  
Akko trusted Croix and Chariot was still asleep...  
There was nothing she could do.

‘I'm sorry Akko...  
I can't protect you after all...’

[You are the only one able to stop it.]

Those words ripped through her like angry flames, nipping and biting.  
It was always the same...  
Only she could do it, the esteemed Diana Cavendish from the esteemed, old Cavendish family line!  
What a joke!  
Where it counted she wasn't able to do anything at all.  
Not being the one to bring back magic to the world like her mother envisioned...  
Not being able to help Chariot...  
Not staying true to her own beliefs!

‘How am I supposed to do that?  
I'm not the chosen one.’

There was an edge to her voice, one she had never heard before.  
Bitterness!  
She was still bitter about this. The fact that Akko got the Shiny Rod and not her...  
She was as much a fan of Chariot as Akko was. She loved magic. She was apparently truly talented at it, if one believed her teachers...  
So why?  
Why wasn't she chosen? 

‘Because you don't have a dream!’

...what?  
Where did that thought come from?  
How ridiculous!  
She had dreams, of course she had them...didn't she?  
She wanted to restore magic after all.

‘Because mother wished for it!’

She wanted to be a brilliant witch and uphold the Cavendish name.

‘Because father wouldn't even acknowledge your existence if you didn't!’

She wanted...

‘I...’

[No you are not!]

Her ancestor's voice ripped her from her inner turmoil, eyes softening as she watched the young witch, a warm note to her tone: 

[But this is something only you can do.]

Before Diana could react to that statement, asking what exactly only she could do, Beatrix continued urgently, as the glowing around her subsided slightly, giving her a transparent look:

[We are running out of time, you will awake soon. My apologies, I wish it wouldn't have come to this, but Woodward's negligence has doomed us all.]

The blonde shrugged slightly, trying to block out her lingering doubts which threatened to surface again. She needed to concentrate. If the world was thrown into chaos because of some time disturbances, she needed to focus!  
She would deal with her issues later!

‘I wouldn't call her meddling dooming us all, but-’

[I am not talking about her questioning testing methods, little unicorn.]

Beatrix's expression darkened.

[ Did you not wonder why she never tried to guide your little pegasus on her quest to obtain Grand Triskelion?]

Diana paused at that. Crossing her arms she thought back to her encounter with the Blue Moon Spirit.  
Akko had never told her that she met Woodward and the old witch herself hadn't really given her the impression that she cared about the brunette even remotely. The one tutoring her was Chariot after all.  
But why?  
Why Chariot and not her?  
She did try to guide the redhead after all.  
Was there something more at play here?  
She opened her mouth to give the old witch an answer, already forming the words in her head, regardless of the fact that she couldn't actually speak, but paused as the rest of the sentence sunk in.

‘My... little pegasus...?’

The blonde could feel her face getting warmer, her ears flushing a bright red as she spluttered embarrassed:

‘Akko is not-’

Then why did she associate her with ‘little pegasus’?

‘I mean, we are not-’

Didn't mean she wouldn't want them to be.

‘It is not what you think!’, she finished lamely, before she cleared her throat and schooled her features back into a blank mask, trying to ignore the amused smile that had spread over the old witch's face.

‘I did in fact ask myself that’, she tried to appear nonchalant, ‘but I guess she learned her lesson from her debacle with Chariot I suppose.’

[Did she now?]

Something akin to concern flashed through her ancestor's eyes, but it was gone so fast that she wasn't sure if she hadn't just imagined it.

[Regardless of that, Woodward is not allowed to interact with all of you on a greater basis. She is bound by the rules, as am I. The only reason she was allowed to take on the brief role of guardianship was because we needed her to teach the one ‘blessed from the stars’ how to control her gifts...which she failed to do!]

Something tugged at Diana's senses.  
Slowly the pieces gathered together.  
So Woodward wasn't allowed to interfere with them...that was good to know...  
She unsurprisingly failed to teach the one blessed from the stars something about control...  
And the one blessed from the stars was...  
A sudden pang of fear surged through her, intensifying the horrible feeling of dread already swirling inside her stomach.

‘Are you talking about Chariot?’

The blonde didn't need an answer, of course she meant Chariot...but why was it making her so uneasy?

[Time is short, little unicorn.  
I regret sending you out there unprepared, but you need to stop **her!** ]

WHO?  
Woodward?  
Croix?  
Diana didn't know anymore. She might have to correct herself in regard to her Beatrix's straightforwardness. Her warnings were as confusing as they were ambiguous.  
The white began to close in, robbing the younger witch of her sight, making it harder to sense her ancestor.

[Do **not** trust your instincts!]

It was spoken with such urgency, that it echoed through the emptiness, sending a cold chill down her spine.

‘What?  
I don't understand.’

But the old witch didn't respond, she just gave the blonde a last, warm smile and in a bright green flash of light she was gone, leaving the young Cavendish with even more questions.

 

When Diana opened her eyes it was morning again. Pale, grayish light fell through the window, as raindrops drummed against the glass, lulling the room into a faint, steady rhythm. Letting her gaze wander, she was pleasantly surprised when she gathered that she was in her own room instead of the dreadful infirmary. A small machine sat on her desk, whirring quietly. Her books appeared to have been recklessly tossed to the ground to make room for it.  
Whoever it was, the Cavendish would have a stern word with them. Nobody treated her prized books like yesterdays garbage! Sighing softly she felt a gentle tug at her right hand. She shuffled around a bit, trying to turn herself to the right as quietly as possible. That's when she saw it.  
Her eyes widened comically as she looked at the surreal scene before her. A young witch sat next to her bed on one of her comfy guest chairs, her head slumped forward laying on the soft mattress. Her brunette hair fell like a curtain around her and both of her hands appeared outstretched. One gripped the Shiny Rod tightly, the red glow diminished. Only one of the gems seemed to refuse to relinquish its dark, sinister shine.

‘What do you want to tell us?’

Shaking her head tiredly, Diana tried to clear her thoughts. It wouldn't do her any good to think too deeply about this right now. Following the other outstretched hand with her eyes she wasn't surprised to find it intertwined with her own. A small smile spread over her face, as she regarded the still sleeping girl fondly, squeezing her hand in a try to rouse her. 

“Akko?”, she whispered softly, as she sat up, leaning on her right elbow, mustering the sleeping girl in front of her.

Incoherent mumbling was the only response she got, which prompted her to shake the brunette gently with her other hand.

“Akko!”, she repeated a bit more loudly.

Red eyes fluttered open, gazing drowsy at her, as Akko tried to blink the sleep away. Then the red orbs widened comically, as they locked with hers and she scrambled upwards, her face a mixture of disbelief and shock. 

“D-Diana, you're awake!”, she exclaimed excited, gripping the blonde's hand even tighter, as if to reassure herself that she was indeed real, “you had me so worried. You just broke down...again and...and then Croix-Sensei said you had Sensorial Overload too and that it could take weeks or months before you would regain your consciousness and-”

Akko's voice deteriorated and broke altogether. Tears began to blur her beautiful, almost Bernstein colored eyes and a loud sob escaped her.  
It caught Diana by surprise. She hadn't imagined the younger witch to react like this...so heartbroken...  
Her own heart clenched painfully inside her chest.

Sitting up alarmed she took the crying girl into her arms and tried to soothe her:

“Akko, shh,”, she cooed gently, “I am alright, see?”

Leaning forward she rested her forehead against Akko's, closing her eyes in the process, relishing at the sudden peacefulness that enveloped her.

“I would never leave you.”

‘Not by choice.’

“You promise?”

Akko's sobs had subsided, but her voice still sounded a bit scratchy.

“On my name as a Cavendish.”

An easy silence fell between them, no one wanting to move even an inch, simply enjoying each other’s company.

‘I wish it could always be like this.’

Impossible!  
As long as Croix had free reign in Luna Nova, Diana couldn't let her guard down.  
And with Professor Ursula currently under her control...  
She sighed loudly as she pulled back, slowly opening her eyes again.

“Akko I have to tell you something-”

“I love you!”

‘...what?’

The blonde froze.  
Apparently she was more tired than she originally thought. She was suddenly hearing things.

‘Ridiculous!’

Just because she realized her own feelings for the brunette didn't mean they would be reciprocated.  
...even if Sucy had implied otherwise...

“...I beg your pardon?”

“I love you”, repeated Akko urgently, an earnest expression on her face, her eyes blazing with an unfamiliar fire, trying to convey the raw honesty behind her words.

“I'm serious!  
And before you go and interrupt me again...nothing you say will change my feelings. At first, I didn't understand them at all. You infuriate me like no one ever has. You are stoic, ridiculously perfect to the point of aggravating and immensely talented at magic. I honestly couldn't stand you...”

She paused then, fixing the older witch with an unfathomable look that made her heart skip a beat and continued, flashing her a gentle smile: 

“Because I wanted to be like you so badly.  
And...with time I realized that you're still all those things, only you're also kind and warm and hardworking. You stood up for me when no one else did, you cared about my well being even after I childishly insulted you and...  
You make me smile and giddy and I want to be with you and hug you and even kiss you...it just feels right.”

She broke their eye contact and stared longingly at their still intertwined hands, her face falling slightly.

“I'm sorry to spring this on you so suddenly, but...you could've died Diana!”

She shook her head as if to clear herself from those images and tried to hold a new wave of tears at bay.

“You could've died and I would have never told you how I really felt and…I just...  
I love you!” 

Her voice had risen with each word and died down at the ‘I love you’ at the end. It couldn't have been louder than a murmur...a quiet defeated murmur...

“...Akko...”

Diana didn't know what else to say. She was speechless. Not in her wildest dreams had she thought that Akko would confess her love to her. Liking her more than a friend? Sure. But love?

‘Do I love Akko?’

She wasn't sure. Shaking her head slightly, she could feel anxiety bubble in the pit of her stomach, making her queasy.

“It's okay if you don't feel the same”, muttered the brunette softly, barely audible and Diana's anxiety morphed into an all out panic.

‘No, I do!’

She couldn't let her think that. It might ruin every chance they had, if she kept on being silent.  
Every fiber in her body urged her on to say something, to tell Akko she was wrong, to be happy for once in her life...  
But Beatrix's warning...

‘Don't trust your instincts!’

Was it instinct if she gave into her feelings?

“I just wanted you to know...”

Her voice sounded so small, as she slowly loosened the grip on the blonde's hand.

‘To hell with it!’

Not letting Akko's hand escape her own Diana surged forward, capturing the younger witch's lips in a desperate kiss, effectively shutting her up.  
Her lips were incredibly soft.  
That was the first thing the Cavendish noticed, as a warm, pleasant tingling spread through her whole body, erasing the lingering fear that resided inside her.  
She had to agree with Akko...  
It just felt right.  
Kissing her...  
As if she had finally found a missing part of herself...  
As if nothing mattered but them...

‘How strange...’

Was that how Chariot had felt for Croix back then?  
If so she could almost understand her reluctance for not dealing with her sooner...  
Almost!  
Even knowing that the tech witch was falsely accused of a crime she didn't commit, didn't change Diana's impression of her. She was still dangerous!  
And if Beatrix's warning was really about her, then she needed to be stopped.

She felt Akko relax into the kiss and ceased her unnecessary thinking for now, instead she tried to focus on the brunette in her arms. The way her heart beat wildly against her own, the way she seemed to melt right into her. It was...

‘Magical!’

She felt a gentle tug inside her, urging her to...to do what exactly?  
She couldn't say.  
Something flashed before her eyes. It was only for a short moment, but she could have sworn it was a...string?  
She must still be reeling from her weird dream...  
She would analyze this later.  
The pull wasn't so strong that she couldn't just simply ignore it.  
Sadly Akko's thoughts seemed to have caught up with her brain too and she broke the kiss, her face flushed, looking at everything but Diana.  
An awkward silence fell between them. And with it came the nagging doubts.  
She couldn't be involved with the brunette right now. It was far too complicated. Besides, she wasn't even sure if she really loved her. Hell from what she knew Akko had despised her only a week ago. Weren’t they moving too fast? And why wouldn't she talk to her right now?  
She glanced quickly at the brunette's somewhat dumbfounded face and a horrible thought overcame her.

‘I am an Idiot!’

She had just kissed Akko without her consent. Acting like those hormonal teenagers she always read about. Unforgivable! She had to apologize.  
Diana had barely opened her mouth before the brunette asked in a surprisingly cheerful way:

“So... where does this leave us? Are we dating now?”

Causing the blonde to blink in confusion.  
She wasn't mad?  
Clearing her throat she tried to appear nonchalant.  
Now was the time to explain to Akko why a relationship right now wasn't the best Idea and that they should probably remain friends for the moment and-

“Are we? I don't remember you asking me on a date.”

‘What?’

No, she hadn't meant to say that. This wasn't supposed to happen...  
She had a mission to accomplish.

“Diana”, whined Akko, but the joy in her eyes betrayed the relief she felt at Diana's remark, as she asked tentatively: “Are you really okay with me?”

‘YES!’

Maybe they could date sporadic. Others always went on dates without being actually together.  
They could work something out...  
It's not as if she could just jump headfirst into a relationship like that.

‘You should have thought about this before you kissed her!’

Darn it!

“Our timing surely is inconvenient with everything that is going on right now.”

It was a vague reply she knew, but it was the only one she could give at the moment. 

“Really? I find it perfect. Ursula-Sensei is finally awake and now I even have a girlfriend. It's starting to look up again.”

It seemed as if Akko had made the decision for her.

‘Girlfriends, huh?’

Wait...

“Ursula-Sensei is awake?”

That would change everything. She could finally get the much needed help to stop Croix without involving Akko in the process. She wouldn't even have to reveal Ursula's secret.

“Oh yes, Croix-Sensei told me that yesterday before you ran into us. I'm actually going to visit her later.”

‘Ugh, Croix again!’

And the way the brunette always talked about the sketchy teacher, as if she was a revered Idol...kind of like her obsession with Shiny Chariot.

“I'm glad for you Akko.”

And she was. She had missed Ursula just as much, especially the way how her and the younger witch interacted with each other.  
Akko for her part didn't seem to notice her discomfort and bounced with newfound vigor onto her feet, grinning sheepishly at her new ‘girlfriend’.

“Hehe, thanks. It’s as if everything is going to be alright again. I'm so happy right now.  
It's a good thing I trusted Croix-Sensei after all. Did you know that her and Shiny Chariot were girlfriends too when they attended Luna Nova?  
Still can't believe she would just leave the one she claimed to love behind...

‘Is that...?’

Criticism? Against Shiny Chariot?  
Shaking her head in disbelief she tried to focus her attention back on the brunette who suddenly stilled her babbling, staring at her embarrassed.

“Uhm...sorry, I'm rambling again”, she laughed lightly before a thoughtful look washed over her.  
She tilted her head to the side and scrambled next to Diana onto the bed.  
“Wasn't there something you wanted to tell me?”

This was the moment she had been waiting for. The time to finally come clean to Akko about everything that was going on...  
But it was her word against Croix's if she wanted to protect Chariot from being found out...  
And it was clear who had the brunette's favor right now.

‘Not me...’

“Never mind, it wasn't that important.”

###### August 2006

Croix was restless. No maybe it was better to say she was irritated. Since Chariot's surprising, albeit not unwelcome display of affection towards her, she felt...off. It began as a slight buzzing, as if she was constantly being charged with electricity, tingling along her spine. But now it was more like a constant drumming. Something hammered against her from within, agitating her nerves, trying to force a mixture of foreign emotions onto her that weren't entirely her own. And she knew they weren't.  
She had never felt so many contradicting things at once.  
Scrolling through her notes, she regarded yesterday's protocol skeptical.  
Chariot's readings were... strange, to say the least. Her instruments had detected an abnormally strong emotional instability, even before they had started the project.

‘Before I started the system even.’

Now the only question was, why?  
Was there something enhancing them?  
Or was it just a consequence of her bottling up her feelings so much?  
And how did it relate to herself at the moment?  
Impatiently she scrolled to the very end of the document, frowning slightly at what she saw.  
Puzzled, she opened the color chart which was created as a parallel file at the time of the experiment and it gave her the same result.  
She had apparently forgotten to shut her system down when she decided to take the break. That meant the data she was currently staring at was actually from the time they were intimately together...which shouldn't really surprise her. Her girlfriend could be a little clumsy after all. It was totally believable that she just missed or ignored some of the electrodes in her haste yesterday.  
No, what really gave her a pause were the readings themselves.  
Chariot's were off the charts. She had never seen such a strong emotional reaction. The color palette suggested a mix of different feelings altogether.  
Red, Blue, Yellow, Rose...

‘What an interesting combination.’

“What are you doing?”, sounded a very familiar voice behind her cheerfully.

Glancing over her shoulder Croix looked directly into Chariot's red eyes and something inside her stirred. The hammering intensified, making her grit her teeth in mild annoyance.  
She still didn't know what was happening to her.  
Feeling her heart rate increase, she forced herself to break their eye contact, turning back to her computer screen.

“I am currently analyzing the results from yesterday's experiment.”

“Oh, can I help you with that?”

Chariot leaned over Croix's shoulder in response, her red hair tickling the older witch's cheek, as she cuddled into her from behind. A shudder ran down the prodigy's spine and a surprisingly strong onslaught of...affection? made her almost want to keel over.  
Being close to her girlfriend seemed to amplify her current condition.

‘Why?’

She had to distract herself from her problem. If she tried too hard to discern the different emotions to find out where they originated, she would get an unbearable headache. It had happened before.  
She needed Chariot to back off.

“ **Va t'en!** ”

‘What was that?’

She hadn't meant to be so cold to her girlfriend, it just slipped out...and in French no less...  
If there was one thing the redhead hated more than being snapped at, it was her mother tongue.  
Chariot recoiled from her, as if she had been burned. Croix's fingers tensed on the keyboard, as a piercing pain ripped through her. 

‘Just what is going on here?’

Why was it hurting so much?

“...Croix?”

The redhead's voice was soft and wary, as she stood awkwardly behind her. The older witch could feel her eyes on her back, almost burning her with accusation. She wouldn't be able to find a solution as long as Chariot was moping.  
Sighing loudly she spun the chair around, facing her girlfriend.

“I apologize for snapping at you.  
I did not mean to hurt you.”

The younger witch took a step forward tentatively, mustering Croix's face, as if she was trying to read her.

“Do you feel alright?”, she asked finally in a timid voice and the older witch's ears buzzed painfully.

Gritting her teeth she forced a placating smile on her face and responded as gently as she could currently muster:

“I have to work right now, do you not see that?”

Which wasn't even an answer to begin with, but the older witch hoped it would be enough to get her point across. Chariot knew how she could get when her projects were concerned. She would understand and leave Croix in peace so that she could finally sort out this confusing mess by herself.

“Croix!”

...or not.  
Another pang rippled through her. Why was the redhead so difficult today? Normally she would just give her a pass. For all she knew Croix was still in work mode, so why stay? She could do other things than hovering over her. Clenching her hands into fists she decided to be blunt, because that seemed to be the only way her girlfriend would get the message.

“Just leave me alone Chariot, I am fine!”

“ **Arrête de mentir!** ”

She never saw it coming.  
Something tugged at her, angry and burning, knocking her remaining breath away. Gasping loudly, she slid from her chair ungracefully to the ground, her whole body tensing up.  
Her vision blurred. She couldn't really say what happened next. She felt hot and feverish.

‘TOO MUCH!’

It was too much...too much sensation at once.  
A pair of soft arms where suddenly around her, helping to ground her.  
The pain lessened somewhat, giving Croix a short glimpse of clarity, as she tried to orient herself.  
Blinking rapidly she stared into the warm and concerned eyes of her girlfriend, who appeared to have been talking to her the whole time.

“Qu'est-ce qui ne va pas, Croix?”

‘Huh?’

That was odd...

“You are speaking French, Chariot”, she managed to rasp out, trying to focus on the warmth that radiated from the redhead, as she relaxed further into her arms.

Chariot seemed kind of surprised to get a reply at all and decided to lighten the mood, forcing a sheepish smile on her face.

“So what?”

“You don't like talking in French.”

Waving it off she flashed her another smile, a real one this time.

“I don't, but it got through you, didn't it?”

Her eyes softened as she tugged Croix closer to her, caressing her lavender hair lovingly.

“Seriously, Croix, what's wrong?”, she murmured obviously worried, but in a low tone. It seemed to imply a warning for the older witch to stop her deflecting tactic.

“I can't fool you, can I?”

Which wasn't exactly the truth. Normally she could, not that she would, but it was doable. Which begged the question why Chariot hadn't gone when she so rudely ordered her away. Why had she stayed with her?

‘How did she know I lied?’

“It's nothing really. I just...feel a bit off today, that's all”, she tried nonetheless, earning her a doubtful glare from the redhead, who thankfully decided not to comment on it, as she focused on the girl in her arms.

“Hm...  
You do feel pretty warm.”

Her concentration was abruptly interrupted, as Croix cuddled closer into her girlfriend, burying her face under the redhead's chin, startling her.

“Eh?”

“I...I feel so much Chariot...”, the older witch muttered tiredly, almost needy, which was so unnatural for her, “I want you close to me and at the same time I need you as far away as possible.”

“How do you feel right now Croix?”

“...warm...incredibly warm and...sad? Excited? Nervous?  
Ugh, my head hurts so much.”

Croix felt Chariot entangling herself from her and tried not to whimper at the loss of contact, instead she rested her head on the cold floor in a desperate attempt to cool off somewhat, closing her eyes...  
Until her girlfriend apparently slammed right into her stomach, causing them both to cry out in pain.

“Goddammit Chariot!”, she almost yelled, trying to squint at the redhead through the tears that had gathered in her eyes. She knew the younger witch was prone to get into…accidents…and that she probably hadn't meant to hurt her, but that sadly didn't erase the fact that she was now in pain.  
And the only one who seemed to make it worse or better was Chariot...who she couldn't find.

“I'm sorry”, could be heard from the other end of the room, as her girlfriend scrambled hurriedly into her field of vision again, seemingly catching her breath and holding the Claiomh Solais in her hand, the other clenched over her stomach.

“I just wanted to get the Claiomh Solais to try and heal you and-”

She paused abruptly, her face furrowed in confusion.

“...Wait...did **my** fall hurt you?”

‘Her fall?’

The wheels in Croix's brain came to a sudden halt.  
Chariot couldn't have tumbled onto her!  
Chariot was on the other end of the room!

“...it did...”, she muttered almost to herself as realization slowly began to sink in.

Everything made sense now.  
Those foreign emotions, which were on the verge of overwhelming her.  
Her inability to adapt to them.  
The reason why being near Chariot enhanced them to an unbearable degree.  
But that couldn't be true. It was simply impossible...

‘Unless you factor in the enigma that is my girlfriend.’

And sadly it seemed to be her only explanation at the moment. 

“Chariot...I think what I am feeling right now...is you!”

###### 2018

Chariot woke to the steady drumming of rain against glass. Her eyes were heavy as she tried to struggle awake, shaking off the last remnants of sleep. Which wasn't as easy as it sounded, because she still felt so exhausted. Blinking slowly she let her gaze wander through the unfamiliar room. It was small, but also incredibly charming. The walls were plastered with diagrams and oddly looking designs for...who knew what and practically screamed Croix to her. So the school did give her her own quarters after all. Not that they appeared to have been used for the two months that she had taught here. If she slept at all, she probably used the bed in her laboratory...typical Croix. She could even make out the red, uneven cape she seemed to wear so regularly, hanging on a small, wooden closet.  
The young professor sat up, now wildly awake. On the desk across from her laid the dark rod...this Chronosphere or whatever her ex-girlfriend had called it, which meant she could actually let go of it.  
Stretching her senses she tried to evaluate her connection to it...with crushing results.  
She appeared to still be tied to it.  
Sighing resigned she pulled them back and began to search for her glasses.  
Her head throbbed painfully. She really ought to be more careful with her abilities. She hadn't used her powers in such a long time, but as of late the urge to use them again became almost unbearable.  
She needed to control herself better...  
And she would!  
Yesterday was a lapse of judgment on her part, nothing more. 

‘Whatever makes you feel better...’

Fine, it was...something...but that didn't mean she had to give in. She knew she still loved Croix, had never stopped loving her to be honest, but...

‘I can't just forgive her!’

Didn't mean she didn't want to...  
And she really really did.  
Croix was her home and she lost it because she believed someone's lies over the older witch's distraught words. Her experiment on Helena was just plain wrong...but...surely they could have worked it out. Maybe she could have shown her the error of her ways...  
She really wasn't a bad person. Just a misguided one. She should have...

‘But you didn't!’

That's right, she didn't and Croix had almost killed them both and a lot of innocent people because of her decision. She would never forget the terrified face of the little girl who had been so excited to meet her. How her eyes had shrunken in fear as she-

‘NO!’

She refused to relive those memories. They were painful enough as it was.  
A cold shudder ran down her spine as she tried to repress them.  
She needed to concentrate on the here and now and that meant-  
A sudden movement at her right caught her attention and interrupted her thoughts. Turning her head towards it she nearly jumped out of the bed.  
Croix.  
How had she not noticed her before?  
The older Professor slept on her back next to her, a peaceful expression on her face. Chariot mustered her unguarded features with wonder. When was the last time she had seen the other witch so relaxed? So...innocent?  
Croix shifted slightly, rustling the sheets in the process, a small frown creasing her forehead. A soft smile tugged at the corners of the redhead's mouth as she regarded her ex-girlfriend fondly. She always was a fitful sleeper, even when they were younger, much to the older one's dismay, because Chariot always used it against her. It was her greatest ammunition to tease the perfect prodigy with.  
Hesitantly she caressed Croix's hair, the impulse far too strong for her to ignore. It still felt the same, she surmised, as she let her fingers run through the smooth, unruly strands, reminding her of the time where the older witch had first presented her her new, short haired look. Beaming at her with so much joy, her eyes twinkling like stars...

‘Croix...’

Letting her fingers wander, she gently traced her face, relishing at the pleasant tingling that followed immediately after every touch, spreading from her hand to her lower stomach. Her heart fluttered nervously, as she leaned closer.  
She missed Croix so much...  
Ten years were such a long time...  
Chariot slightly bumped their noses together as she hovered over the sleeping Professor indecisive, trying to fight the longing that muddled her mind and the dull ache that resided deep inside her, craving the older witch's warmth...her touch...  
It was as if she was in a trance when she pressed her lips softly against Croix's. Her eyes fluttered shut almost instinctual and her heartbeat quickened tremendously.  
She knew in her head that this was such a bad Idea, but...  
A pair of warm hands sneaked behind her as the kiss deepened, roaming over her back, pulling her closer, pressing their bodies together.  
She had forgotten how Croix's kisses always left her reeling inwardly, how passionate she could become when fully motivated.  
And suddenly they were back at Croix's home so many summers ago, hands sliding lower, kissing her way down to her girlfriend's exposed navel, magic rummaging through her. Seeing the beautiful strand of magic surrounding her as she weaved them together...

Panicked, Chariot opened her eyes, staring right into Croix's green ones. Something tore at her strongly, trying to guide her...  
Everything became a blur, as magic began to build inside her, begging her to use it. She felt more than she saw the older witch. Dulled but nonetheless present her essence seeped through the walls the redhead had put up around herself. Through the small cracks that had formed for every year that passed without Croix...  
A soft gasp escaped her as the tech witch's hands slid under her shirt, ghosting over her hot flesh.

I really do want to be Chariot.

‘...but I'm Chariot...’

Was it your childhood dream to become a teacher Sensei?

‘No, you're wrong...’

If I keep chasing after the words too, I know I'll run into her!

‘...you already met me Akko...’

I am innocent Chariot!  
You have to believe me!

“ **Stop!** ”

Chariot ripped herself away breathlessly, almost falling from the bed in her momentum, her eyes wide.  
What had she just done?  
And what would she have done if she hadn't been able to stop herself in time?  
She had almost given in...  
A soft chuckle reached her flushed ears, as Croix sat up, giving her a self-satisfactory smile.

“Well...”, she drawled slowly, not even trying to hide her amusement, “that is definitely one way to wake up.”

At the younger Professor's scowl however, she scrunched her nose slightly, cocking her eyebrow, the mirth never quite leaving her voice.

“What, are you going to blame this on me too?”

“What? No, I-”

“I mean you practically forced yourself onto me.”

“T-that wasn't-”

“You need to take responsibility.”

“Croix!”

“Chariot.”

The redhead had to suppress the urge to pout at the tech witch's mischievous smile. It was just feeling too familiar.

“You're impossible...”, she muttered under her breath, trying to calm her still racing heart.

What were they even doing?  
Squabbles like these showed her glimpses of her Croix. The girl she fell in love with. The playful, albeit somewhat unconventional, self proclaimed ‘greatest witch of all times’ who enjoyed teasing her to no end.

“True, but you love me anyway.”

“Yes- No- I mean-”

The conviction behind those words startled Chariot.  
How could Croix be so sure?  
It was just a kiss, she hadn't confessed her love or anything like that.  
...but it rattled her nonetheless.

‘Because it's true!’

Like their near death accident that the older one had caused!

[Is that what happened?]

‘…huh?’

What an odd thought. Of course it did.  
She was probably still feeling the aftereffects of yesterday here.

“...How I feel about you is irrelevant...”, she finished quietly, immediately sobering up, looking at everything but the older Professor.

The silence that enveloped them was heavy and charged with so many contradicting emotions that Chariot didn't even had to open her senses to pick up on them.

“Not to me, as you would know if you hadn't-”

“No, Croix, stop!”

She didn't want to remember what she had lost...what she had to give up...  
Ten years of hiding hadn't made it easier for her to hold herself together.  
Annoyed the older witch held her hands up in a defeated manner and crawled out of bed, smoothing her clothes and checking her hair in a mirror near the closet.

“Alright, alright. Since you're still in denial I'm going to school. I have a class to teach, a meeting to attend and I have to take a look at my second patient.”

‘Huh?’

“Your...second patient?”, Chariot repeated slowly, studying her ex-girlfriend carefully, almost suspicious, “What did you do?”

Suddenly the whole atmosphere dropped. Hurt flashed through Croix's eyes, but it was gone before she even could react to it. An eerie smile spread slowly over the older witch's face, as she regarded the redhead mockingly:

“...it's really heartwarming how you immediately suspect me every time.”

She pressed a hand over her heart sighing theatrical.

“Makes me feel appreciated.”

“That's-“

‘I'm so stupid!’

She shouldn't have accused her like this, but there was no way she could trust her ex-girlfriend with the safety of her students.  
Still...she hated to hurt Croix like that...  
Why did she feel so uneasy all of the sudden?

‘Have I made a mistake?’

“It doesn't matter”, interrupted the tech witch her thoughts, as she moved away from the closet, dangerously close to Chariot, invading her personal space, lowering her voice to nothing more than a whisper.

“Even when you cripple yourself you're still going to help me.”

“Never!”, the young professor retorted with as much conviction as she could muster, narrowing her eyes at Croix, “The power of Grand Triskelion belongs to Akko!”

‘You'll never use me again!’

Still smiling smugly, the tech witch waved her off with a scoff.

“We'll see about that.”

Turning around she grabbed her red cape and threw a glance over her shoulder, her eyes softening at Chariot's obviously pained expression.

“Take the day to rest some more”, she advised subtly, before her face became blank once again.

“Oh, and I'll bring Akko back with me so you better cheer up, Ursula-Sensei.”

Croix practically sneered her fake name as she rushed out of the door and for whatever obscure reason she almost wanted to correct her. To urge her to use her real name.  
Ursula sounded so wrong coming from the tech witch's lips...

‘I'm Chariot...’

Shaking her head she sighed exhausted and let herself fall back onto the soft pillow behind her, feeling her energy waning. Maybe a bit more sleep would be good for her after all.

‘I'm going to see Akko again.’

A tired smile spread over her face, as she closed her eyes.

 

She couldn't really tell how much time had passed when the loud noise of a door slammed shut startled the young Professor out of her drowsiness. Her eyes scanned her surroundings until she found the perpetrator, loitering at Croix's desk, seemingly occupied with studying the dark rod that still laid there.

“I think our talk is long overdue, wouldn't you agree Ursula-Sensei, no... Chariot du Nord?”

###### 

**French to English**  
Va t'en! - Go away!  
Arrête de mentir! - Stop lying!  
Qu'est-ce qui ne va pas? - What's wrong?


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I’m still alive.  
> And I finally have internet…thank god, but I’m not returning to my weekly update routine,  
> simply because I don’t think I could manage it at the time. I’m probably going with monthly  
> right now. This may change if I find a solution to my crazy schedule, but for now I just don’t have enough energy, between work and school. I’m really sorry.  
> If you decide to stick with my stories I’d be overjoyed!  
> If not, I can understand that too.  
> But to everyone who still reads this, you’re wonderful!  
> And before I forget, let me give a big shout out to FeliciaRei!  
> Without her I wouldn’t have been able to finish this chapter.  
> THANK YOU!  
> And you all should go read her story: ‘Our Magic!’, if you haven’t already.  
> It’s sooo awesome!  
> Aaaand I’ll stop rambling now.  
> Enjoy^^

###### 2018

Chariot wasn’t sure what was worse. The fact that Diana Cavendish knew her real identity or that she was currently way too underdressed for their apparently ‘long due’ conversation, being only clad in some of…Croix’s she guessed, sleep wear, which was almost as ‘fashionable’ as the tech witch’s normal attire. Who would have thought that her ex-girlfriend would develop such an extravagant style over the years?  
Certainly not her, although Croix trying to distance herself from her reputation as the school prodigy had started almost as soon as they had met each other back then. And she had told her from time to time she wanted to adapt her outer appearance to the person she really was inside…  
But what did she want to tell the world about herself with her present wardrobe choices?  
That she was cool?  
A rebel?  
Into Bondag-  
No!  
She should probably not go there…ever!  
Diana for her part didn’t seem bothered at all by her appearance, maybe because she herself wasn’t faring any better, wearing only a white nightgown, as she ceremoniously sat down at the desk, crossing her legs and fixed the young Professor with a…stern glare?

‘Huh?’

Why did she feel like she was about to be lectured?  
An uneasy silence stretched between them as Chariot sat up, deciding to forgo her fake glasses altogether, which she finally spotted behind her on a nightstand, laying next to her wand. She didn’t need them anyway.

“So-”, she fidgeted awkwardly, cursing herself for the faint waver in her voice and the distinct flash of yellowish - green light blinking at her almost mockingly from the desk, causing the blonde witch to glance at it out of the corner of her eyes, a puzzled expression on her face.  
Chariot’s face flushed slightly.  
Why, of all the things Croix could have invented, did it have to be some kind of emotional tracker?  
And why did she have to build it in her goddamn secret weapon, no less?

‘To let her know what you’re feeling.’

Yes, she knew that, but couldn’t she have used something smaller? Something that wouldn’t draw so much attention to it? Did she really have to use those flashy lights?

‘The same lights you described to her.’

Which she wouldn’t have if she had known-

‘But you did! This is your fault!’

No!  
Her vision became fuzzy as Croix’s groggy face appeared before her inner eyes, smiling a strained smile, looking oh so exhausted.

Looks like we’re bonded for life now!

‘Croix…’

Magic sparked hotly inside her, as she instinctually stretched her senses to search for…

Don’t cry, Chariot. We will always be together, I promise!

‘Croix!’

Energy swirled beneath her fingertips, as her eyes unfocused altogether, dulling her self-awareness…and Croix’s smile-  
God she loved her smile!  
-became so intoxicating and Chariot wanted, no needed to…

That’s not what happened! You have to believe me, Chariot!

Something shifted inside her, clicked into place, as her resistance crumbled and…she became numb.  
Or did she become cold?  
She couldn’t say.   
All that she knew was that she couldn’t let go of…  
Of what?  
What made her feel like this?  
A faint voice reached her ears, calling for…her?  
She wasn’t sure. It was too muffled and sounded so far, far away.  
Her magic reacted instantly, humming in approval, as she began to continue her search for the source of the persistent cold that seeped so easily through her defenses, disregarding the voice.  
She could feel the strands of magic around her, whispering to her, urging her to follow them instead, but she needed to…needed…

‘Croix…’

It was just so cold, but something about it was weirdly comforting…almost familiar…

‘Croix…’

One of the strands pulsed strongly as she touched it softly and-

‘HURTS!’

Pain!  
It was simply everywhere, blocking her, taunting her, engulfing her.  
The strand was ruffed and battered, but she couldn’t break from it.  
Her ears were ringing as her senses were flooded with emotions, tattered and broken emotions, almost too disfigured to gather what they were about. The only clear reading she got from them was the ominously strong thirst for revenge.

‘Croix!’

But it couldn’t be her!  
That was impossible!  
Chariot had fixed this!  
Exactly like **she** had explained it to her.  
So there was no way…

“Ursula-Sensei?”

…there was no way…

“Sensei?”

‘Huh?’

Who?  
Ursula?  
But that wasn’t her name, was it?

‘I’m…’

“Chariot?!”

A pair of arms were suddenly on her shoulders, as someone pushed her frantically on her back, startling her out of her…daze?  
Her vision began to clear, as she looked up, right into the panic stricken, blue eyes of Diana, her expression a mixture of guilt and concern.

“Can you hear me now?”

The younger witch’s voice was gentle and warm. Gone was the stern, disconcerting glare from earlier. A bit sluggish Chariot nodded her head, the cold inside her slowly dissipating, as her walls finally seemed to function again, leaving an all too familiar void in its place. Diana still hovered over her. Her eyes scanning every inch of her face, until she let out a relieved sigh, withdrawing her hands from the redhead’s shoulders.

“Thank god! For a moment I thought you were-”

The noise of fast footsteps coming nearer let the blonde stop in her tracks, as her face grew rapidly alarmed. A few moments later Chariot caught on why.   
Her hair was still red.  
She hadn’t attempted to change it back to its usual blue hair color, because she hadn’t trusted her magic enough, not after what had happened with Woodward.  
Throwing a quick glance to something behind her, the blonde witch scrambled hurriedly onto the bed, straddling the redhead in the process, as she reached for the wand on the nightstand. Startled, Chariot blinked owlishly at the blonde on top of her, fighting against the last remnants of haze that still clung to her.  
Soft tingles ran down her spine, as Diana’s hand grazed her hair, making her head spin wildly. Her breath hitched suddenly when it trailed gently over her chin, keeping it from turning towards the sound of the steady footsteps that drew nearer and nearer. A quiet murmur could be heard, as the younger witch tapped the wand against her hair and an odd feeling of calmness washed over her, quenching the unruly magic still cursing through her body, hot flames flickering and dying down.

‘Huh?’

What was going on here?  
As if in trance, Chariot extended her own hand and placed it over the younger witch’s heart, the rhythmical beating of it drumming against her fingertips.  
She had no Idea what she was doing, or why, but when Diana grasped her hand carefully, almost tender, she felt weirdly content all of a sudden. As if time had frozen for them.

I hope we’ll meet again someday, Diana.

Don’t worry, we will.

‘…huh?’

What…?

“Well, this is definitely a unique way to ‘talk’ to someone.”

Chariot turned her head towards the door awkwardly, trying to find some semblance of normality, something that would help ground her, so she could finally start to get whatever was going on right now. And the monotonous drawl from the young, intruding witch she recognized as Sucy was giving her exactly what she needed.  
Clarity.  
Her face flushed red as she realized what kind of position her and Diana currently were in and how it must have looked like to Akko’s friend. Pulling her hand back hurriedly, she peered back to the blonde who had straightened herself up, but contrary to her expectations hadn’t moved off of her, apparently too occupied with glaring at Sucy.

“Are you following me around now?”

The coldness with which she uttered those words threw the young Professor off.   
Did something happen between those two?  
What had she missed while she was unconscious?

“As if”, came the retort and Chariot couldn’t help but glance from one of her students to the other, feeling horribly out of the loop, “but as soon as Akko said she couldn’t find you I had my suspicions about your whereabouts and it seems like I was spot on.”

“I wasn’t aware that talking to one of our professors was prohibited.”

Rolling her eyes Sucy’s expression soured slightly.

“You’re still trying to play dumb? Really?  
Normally I wouldn’t care either way, but have you spend one thought about how hurt Akko will be when she finds out?”

Pointing her finger accusingly on the still totally bemused Chariot on the bed, caused the redhead to freeze in response.  
So the mushroom loving witch did know her real identity after all?  
But how?  
She wasn’t even sure how Diana had figured it out in the first place.  
And Akko…

‘Oh my god, Akko!’

She couldn’t find out like this.   
It had taken her every ounce of self control not to reveal herself to the energetic witch when she told her about the Seven words of Arcturus. She had made the conscious decision to remain silent and instead use her secret as a form of motivation for her unsuspecting student, being fully aware of the fact that the longer she waited the more Akko would be hurt.  
And she hated it.  
She hated that she couldn’t be the Chariot Akko wanted, that she deserved.  
She hated that she had to deceive her like that.

‘I’m sorry, Akko…  
Please forgive me…’

One day she would tell her everything and maybe the brunette would be understanding enough that they wouldn’t lose their relationship, but it would be simply disastrous if she found out now.  
And from someone else as well.  
No!  
She couldn’t let this happen.

“You can’t tell Akko about this!”, she stated with exasperation, pushing herself up and forcing Diana to scramble off of her from the bed, her now blue hair frizzling dangerously, straining against the magic that kept it trapped.

Sucy blinked slowly, as she mustered the young Professor’s terrified expression, something akin to resignation flitting over her blank features.

“So you are encouraging it after all. I thought for a while that Diana was forcing you to do this, because you looked so helpless when I interrupted you two.”

Encouraging to keep her identity a secret?  
Diana forcing her to keep it a secret?  
Helpless?  
When Sucy interrupted?  
But…

‘We weren’t even talking about me being Chariot, or Akko for that matter…  
We…’

What had they done again?

‘…  
OH NO!’

Chariot’s eyes widened comically, as she began to splutter waving her hands frantically in front of her.

“This…you have that wrong Sucy, Diana and I aren’t…”

“We aren’t what?”

Diana’s face seemed sincere enough in her obvious confusion, that the Professor couldn’t even entertain the idea that she was just playing along because she had some kind of plan for this situation.

“Uhm…”

Seriously, how did they even get into this mess to begin with?

“You know”, drawled Sucy finally, shifting her attention back to the blonde, who put her hands on her hips, “ Lotte tried to tell me there was another explanation for your behavior. That I was misinterpreting the whole thing and I almost believed her.  
I almost believed her because the idea that you two had some secret affair was just ridiculous.”

“…secret WHAT?”

Diana's eyes went wide, as her gaze skipped towards the blue haired teacher and back to her classmate, opening her mouth and closing it a moment after, seemingly speechless.  
Could this situation get any weirder?  
In a desperate attempt at damage control, she tried to reason with the mushroom loving witch.

“Sucy, please, we really don’t have a…secret affair going on. Diana, like you, is just one of my students.”

“Is that so…”

She sounded almost bored, as she cocked her head to the side, looking at her expectantly.

“So what didn’t you want me to tell Akko then, Sensei?”

“…”

“That’s what I thought.”

She apparently hadn’t missed the helpless look that Chariot had thrown towards the blonde, who had effectively schooled her features back into a nonchalant expression.

“I give you one last chance”, the mushroom loving witch narrowed her eyes slightly, as she took a step towards Diana, dismissing Chariot’s presence altogether, “because for whatever reason there is, Akko likes you. You have seven days!”

Whirling around, she went to the door, ripping it open.

“After that I’ll tell her myself.”

And with that the door slammed shut behind her, leaving the Professor and her student behind in stunned silence.

‘Was Sucy always this angry and distrustful?’

Peering at the blonde standing beside her she attempted to lighten the mood by forcing one of her sheepish smiles she was so good at, but Diana only sighed, staring at the closed door and shook her head.

“I don’t know what I did to aggravate her so much, but she is right in one regard”, she paused to glance pointedly at Chariot, “we have to tell Akko.”

‘Huh?’

Sucy was right?  
Surely that couldn’t be true?   
Why would Diana even think that?  
She had been as confused by it as the Professor herself…right?  
So why should they tell Akko that…

“That we’re having an affair?”

It was actually kind of fascinating how fast Diana’s face flushed as red as her own natural hair color. 

“…wha- NO!”, sputtered the Cavendish, fiddling nervously with the hem of her nightgown, as if she had suddenly fully realized how little she was actually wearing.

“Where did she even get such a ludicrous idea from?”

“…remember our position when she entered the room?”

“Ah, but that- I didn’t mean to-  
I just thought it would help you. When trapped in a dream falling backwards allows you to escape, so it was the most logical choice to push you.”

‘Who said I was dreaming?’

Still that sounded somewhat familiar.  
Hadn’t there been a movie about that some time ago?

“Where did you hear that theory?”

“I…read about it... somewhere”, came the vague reply, confirming her suspicions. 

A small smile flitted over Chariot’s face.

“Well then”, she said warmly, as she stared earnestly into the younger witch’s blue eyes, “thank you, Diana.”

The tension left her tired body and Diana too, seemed to relax a bit, seating herself across from the teacher, sighing softly.

“Nevertheless, the fact remains that you should probably tell Akko-”

“Tell me what?”

Chariot pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation as she turned around, barely able to stifle a groan at the sight of the brunette witch and her ex-girlfriend standing in the doorway.

Could she really never get a break?

The tech witch’s eyes locked with hers and a smug, almost satisfied smile spread over her face, as she leaned casually against the door, raising her eyebrows expectantly.

…apparently not.

###### August 2006

Croix was sick.  
Or that’s what Chariot hoped for at least. Not that she wanted her girlfriend to suffer through an illness, but since the sudden revelation that the older witch was able to feel her emotions, her condition had severely worsened. As had her attitude towards her.  
The past week Croix had alternated between being overly clingy or downright verbally assaultive and it worried the redhead to no end.  
But as her concern grew so did her frustration.  
She knew how Croix could be when she felt cornered and lashed out, but this was getting out of hand.  
What even was her problem?  
Feeling her emotions?  
Was that really that bad?  
It’s not as if they were stronger than other people’s emotions…right?

‘Are you sure?’

A wave of uneasiness washed over her, as she fidgeted awkwardly in her comfy chair, trying to focus her attention back on the book she originally wanted to read.  
Who would have thought that she would be glad to sit quietly in the guest room instead of causing havoc with her girlfriend?  
Or just wanting to keep her company in general?  
A muffled groan could be heard from the other side of the door, causing her to sigh designated, as she lowered the book and threw it on her bed. Exiting her room, she turned off the lights and padded through the dark, lonesome corridor towards Croix’s doorstep. A faint rumble accompanied the steady raindrops hammering against the glass of the extravagantly large windows adorning the mansion.  
Entering silently Chariot narrowed her eyes and searched the room with her gaze.  
Nothing seemed to be out of order.  
Croix still laid in her bed where the redhead had left her two hours ago when the older witch’s fever had returned with so much vigor that Chariot had almost asked the domestic servants for help.  
Only a certain, incredibly stubborn witch had pleaded and debated with her to stay quiet and in the end they had compromised that Croix should lay down and if it wouldn’t get better in the morning they would inform the staff.  
Wandering to the bed she took her sleeping girlfriend’s temperature and was immensely relieved when it became clear that her fever had gone down again.   
She could have left right then. Returning to her own room, maybe finally reading that book she had brought with her, but when her eyes stumbled over the familiar laptop on the abandoned desk, she was overcome with the need to figure out what happened with Croix.  
Deciding in a split second she walked to the computer and switched it on, sitting down in front of it, as the screen flickered to live. Skimming through some files, she searched for the last updated folder.  
Maybe knowing what Croix had worked on before she got…’sick’…would help her understand what happened…or maybe how it would have been possible for her to gain access to Chariot’s emotions.  
Weirdly enough she found it almost immediately, under the label of: “Emotional research”.  
Something tingled down her spine, cold and unpleasantly, at the sight of it, though she didn’t know why. Her bad feeling even intensified as she opened the folder to be greeted by other, different files, probably being filled with information about emotions in general, and three differently colored ones, named: 

“Test subject 1 – February 2004  
Test subject 2 – June 2006  
Test subject 3 – August 2006”

‘What…?’

Test subjects?  
From the experiment they had done last week?  
If so then…  
Chariot clicked nervously on ‘Test subject 3’ and was greeted with an overview of herself. Her name, her birthday, her nationality, her height, her weight, her hair color, her eye color and so on. There were a bunch of confusing charts and numbers depicted, but they didn’t seem to have been evaluated at the moment, probably because the older witch hadn’t gotten to that part yet.   
She scrolled to the end of the file and scrunched her face, as she read the small note attached to the last chart.

//The subject is an extremely selfless individual and values eliciting joy in others – may suffer from an inferiority complex. The subject’s feelings appear to be on the normal scale in general. Yesterday’s test however showed a highly dshk//

‘A highly what?’

Seemed like the note wasn’t quite finished. Maybe because Croix wrote it on the day she collapsed…  
That could be possible…  
The redhead shuddered abruptly and without any forewarning.  
She felt really uncomfortable being called a ‘subject’.

‘May suffer from an inferiority complex….’

That was not how Croix saw her…was it?

‘Don’t be stupid!’

Of course not! Croix was a scientist and this was scientific speech, nothing more and nothing less!  
Still…  
It did make her feel uneasy…  
She should probably talk to her girlfriend about this when she felt better.  
Skimming the other folder again, she stared pensively at the other test subject files.  
The one from June 2006 made her curious.  
Just whom had Croix asked to help?  
And why hadn’t she said anything to her?  
Shrugging slightly, she clicked on the folder ‘Test subject 2’.  
Only to be requested to enter a password.

‘Huh?’

Well, it made sense for someone like Croix to protect her research with passwords. She tried to cancel her action and got the option to view a safety question to help her remember in case she had forgotten it. Going along with it Chariot ended up with…nothing.  
Yes, nothing!  
No question, or keywords, or…whatever, just a blank space…

‘How odd.’

Blinking slowly at the screen, she went back to the last test subject file, labeled ‘Test subject 1’, and experimentally clicked on that one too. As expected, the request for a password popped up again. She copied her steps from last time and got to the option to view the safety question, only this time instead of a blank space an actual question appeared:

“What is magic?”

‘What is magic?’

A believing heart was her magic…  
But that couldn’t be it.  
Croix hadn’t known her in 2004 and it appeared she had started her research way sooner than the redhead had thought, so…  
What was magic?  
Magic was cultivated through the accumulation of lasting traditions and assiduous research, or at least that was what the teachers preached at school.  
But that’s not what magic was at all!

‘What is magic?’

Magic made people smile.   
Magic could help better their lives.   
Magic was…beautiful!

‘And destructive!’

Flashes from the incident of the flying competition swam before her inner eyes. The screams, the sheer panic and helplessness…the ‘Void’, being ripped apart-  
She stomped those thoughts down as soon as she heard her girlfriend moan in pain behind her, causing her to peek over her shoulder on high alert.  
But Croix still hadn’t woken up from her now fitful sleep.  
As she faced back to the screen a twinge of annoyance swirled through her.  
Now she even had to be more careful about what she felt?  
Really?  
She had a right to her emotions!  
…  
Her eyes went wide, as it suddenly clicked.  
Emotions!

‘That’s it!’

Magic was emotion!  
Wild and untamed. A power to be reckoned with.  
The whole premise on which Croix worked at. She even had told her one time that the Claiomh Solais reacted simply on her feelings.   
Staring at the screen apprehensively, her fingers hovered over the keyboard uncertain.  
Should she really try to read a password protected file?  
Wouldn’t that be a violation of trust?

‘…it could help Croix!’

Yes, she needed to think about the wellbeing of her girlfriend. Besides, she had already seen her own ‘test subject’ info. Surely it couldn’t get weirder than that.  
Slowly she typed in the answer: emotion  
…  
And the file opened.  
But Chariot’s joy at that was short lived, as she read its content, making her wish so badly she would have left it alone.

//Test Subject 1  
Name: Croix Meridies  
Gender: Female  
Nationality: French  
Hair color: lilac/lavender  
Eye color: green  
Age: 15  
-//

She skipped the rest of the overview, she knew most of it anyway, and scrolled to the end of the file.  
Everything inside her screamed to just exit it and pretend to have never seen it, but…she couldn’t.

//The subject appears to be an independent, young and healthy individual. The subject mostly isolates themselves, but depicts a variety of social skills, helping them interact with their social surroundings.  
They are highly intelligent and above all of their classmates.  
Upon further investigation the subject’s emotions are almost none detectable. The tests showed an abnormality. The subject’s brain doesn’t seem to register emotional words and pictures. As a result it is unable to grasp abstract concepts such as love and hinders the subject to be empathetic towards others, or view them like actual human/living beings. All concepts like emotions are merely words they know how to act on. Only primitive feelings like rage and anger seem to be genuine.  
The subject values control and will not give it up under any circumstances.

Results:   
The subject seems to suffer from conduct disorder…  
There is no known way to medicate/treat/cure conduct disorder. It may disappear on its own.   
If not, the subject will most likely be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder when they are of age.//

‘…what…?’

This…  
This was impossible!  
Croix…Croix wasn’t like this.  
Croix loved her!

‘…unable to grasp abstract concepts such as love…’

Nonononononono!  
She loved her!  
Chariot was sure of it.  
Maybe it was an ill thought out joke?  
A coded language?  
Another security measure to protect her research from other people’s eyes?

‘All concepts like emotions are merely words they know how to act on.’

It’s not true!  
It’s not!  
Something hot trailed down her cheek.  
When had she started crying?  
She raised her hand, tracing the wet line her tears left on her face.   
She was shaking.  
Croix’s smile flashed before her inner eyes…

I love you…

Was that a lie?

The truth is you make me the happiest person on earth.

How would that even be possible?

You are a blessing, Chariot!

STOP!

A strangled sob tore itself from her throat and everything inside her crumbled.  
She hugged herself tightly, as she slumped more into the chair and broke down completely.  
Wailing uncontrollably.  
It hurt…

‘So much…’

At the corner of her vision she saw something move towards her, but she didn’t care.  
…it just didn’t matter anymore…

“Chariot?”

The sound of the familiar voice made the redhead shrunk even further into the chair.

‘Croix…’

She felt the chair being turned around.  
The older witch’s eyes locked with her own, though Chariot only saw a green blur.  
Croix frowned, as her gaze wandered to a point behind her, probably the still active screen, and then she just kind of froze.  
At the same time the redhead felt a sudden spark of anger running through her, startling her.

What was that?

“Chariot, did you read that? You can’t just-  
Fuck!”

Any other day, she would have found it hilarious to hear her girlfriend curse so freely.  
…any other day…  
Croix crouched before her, her face a mixture of unadulterated fear and panic, the same things she felt cursing inside her and-

‘Huh?’

Why was she afraid?  
Why was she panicking?   
Chariot was confused. Her feelings didn’t make any sense at all.  
All of a sudden she was pulled into a hug.  
She didn’t fight the familiar warmth that radiated from her girlfriend, instead she clung to it desperately. She needed Croix to tell her it was all a lie.   
That she did love her.   
That she wasn’t suffering from some strange sounding illness.  
She could feel the older witch’s hand running soothing circles over her back, as she drew Chariot further into her, from the chair onto her lap, laying her head on top of hers.  
For a while they stayed like this in complete silence. Only the faint pattern of the rain could be heard, accompanied by the redhead’s hic upping breaths, as she slowly calmed down again.  
She felt kind of numb at the moment…and heavy.

‘So heavy…’

“I always knew I was different from other children”, Croix’s tired voice began to fill the silence between them, “They told me I was just maturing quicker than them. That they would catch up some day. Going through the same processes I did…but they never did.”

She paused shortly and let out a shaky sigh.

“And I didn’t care that they didn’t. It made me special.  
The first time I heard about ‘conduct disorder’ was at Luna Nova. One of the…more free spirited students from the upper year caused some serious outrage when she ridiculed Finneran-Sensei’s philosophy of magic as molding us into unfeeling and distant sociopaths. In our next lesson with her she graciously tried to refute those accusations and showed us what antisocial personality disorder really was about, or conduct disorder, because you apparently can’t be diagnosed as a sociopath when you are under the age of 18.”

An edge of annoyance crept into her tone and oddly enough Chariot felt a tiny prickle of that herself.

“I always knew I was different…but after this lesson I finally knew why.”

The redhead tensed and buried herself further into her girlfriend, squeezing her eyes shut in a desperate attempt to block out the world around her.

‘Please…no…’

“Everything fit, but I wasn’t satisfied with that. Because I was not an Idiot. Magic required strong emotional support to be of any worth in the long run, to make it lasting…more powerful…  
So I decided I needed to learn how to feel, if I wanted to be the greatest witch of all times. I began to read about neuronal processes in our brain and my grand research about emotions had started…but everything changed when I met you.”

“Me?”, echoed Chariot, her voice still thick with tears. 

It didn’t sound like it belonged to her at all.

“Yes”, reaffirmed Croix, her arms unconsciously tightening around the redhead, “When I looked into your eyes back then when you asked me about your show…I felt something. For the first time I felt something…and as we spent more and more time together I came to love you.”

Warmth flickered faintly in the pit of Chariot’s stomach, but…

‘That’s not me!’

Her eyes fluttered open with sudden clarity.  
Anger, Fear, Annoyance, Frustration that hadn’t been her at all. Those were…

‘Croix!’

And the warmth she felt right now was…

“Maybe you did a miracle and healed me.”

It didn’t sound convincing at all and her girlfriend must have known that.  
But still…  
That warmth she had felt when the older witch had talked about her…  
Hesitantly she pulled out of the embrace, straining a bit against Croix’s hold on her, who seemed terrified of letting her go, but relented in the end. As Chariot stood up, so did she, as they faced each other, standing awkwardly before Croix’s, now vacant, bed.  
Staring right into her girlfriend’s eyes, she prayed for everything in the world that she was right with her assumption.  
That her time with Croix had been genuine.

“Tu m’aimes, Croix?”

She deliberately chose to speak those words in French. Something akin to understanding flashed through the older one’s eyes, as she slowly interlocked their hands, her voice no more than a whisper.

“T’es l’amour de ma vie, Chariot.”

The warm tingling from before returned, only ten times its strength, washing over the redhead, causing relieve to surge through her like it never did before.

‘Croix loves me!’

Even when in reality she shouldn’t be able to.   
Croix loved her and she would be damned if she just up and left her girlfriend for something she had no control over and wanted to fix.  
She could work with that.  
Maybe if she…

She squeezed the older witch’s hands and let herself feel the extend of her love for her, causing Croix to gasp and shudder violently, as she stumbled backwards a little, trying to loosen her hold on Chariot; getting more space between them, but she wouldn’t let her.   
Following after her Chariot pushed her softly onto the bed. She could feel Croix’s irritancy pulsing through her. Now that she was aware of her presence she could easily discern the faint emotions from her own.   
Climbing on top of her girlfriend, she straddled her, earning her another gasp from the other witch. Hurriedly she rid herself off her night shirt with an urgency she never thought she would feel again and watched with some fascination as Croix’s eyes darkened and she tried to reach for her. Intercepting her hand Chariot grasped it gently and guided it to her heart, pressing it softly against her hot flesh.

“No!”, she rasped breathlessly, “I want you to feel, Croix.”

Leaving the other witch’s hand where it was she leaned in and captured her lips, slipping her tongue in, as she massaged her girlfriend’s neck. A quiet moan ripped itself from the older one and she began to squirm almost impatiently when Chariot’s hands started to roam and wander over her heated body, playing with the hem of her nightgown.  
The warmth inside of the redhead grew stronger and stronger, only disturbed by a faint but persistent pounding against her head.   
Breaking their kiss she trailed upwards, pressing her lips softly against Croix’s forehead, earning her a light groan, the hand over her heart twitching. Pulling back again she gently traced her girlfriend’s face, who stared helplessly back at her.

“I love you”, the older witch whispered desperately.

She was overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by the strength of their combined feelings. Overwhelmed by finally grasping what emotions were really about, as it shuddered through their bond, reinforcing Chariot’s resolve.

‘I’ll never give up on you!’

###### 2018

“Looks like she isn’t here either.”

Lotte’s voice sounded apologetic, as she peered over Akko’s shoulder into the vacant room before them. And here the brunette had thought things would finally calm down a little, but now it looked like she had to search for her newfound girlfriend after all…  
What a bummer.  
She had wanted to surprise her after class so they could both visit Professor Ursula, but when she got back to Diana’s room the blonde was simply gone.  
And it kind of worried the brunette.  
This wasn’t the first time Diana had broken down in front of her after all.

‘Just…where are you?’

Hell they even had gotten Sucy onboard with them, to help with the search…even when hers and Akko’s relationship was…rocky at best. Well Lotte might have mediated between them at first, but the mushroom loving witch surprised her with how…normal she behaved…normal for Sucy standard at least. It relieved Akko immensely that her friend came around, even if their interactions were still kind of forced on her part, but she could work with that. So yes, she was really thankful for Sucy’s help…until she suddenly disappeared too. Leaving as soon as Akko had told them that Professor Ursula was awake again.  
Not that she was angry about this. After all she already knew how Sucy felt about her, even if she still wasn’t sure how she should even approach her friend with this kinda topic…  
But right now she had other things to do and one of them just happened to involve the whereabouts of her girlfriend.

“Sheesh Diana, where did you go?”

“Don’t worry Akko, I’m sure we’ll find her”, encouraged her Lotte from behind, placing a hand gently on her shoulder in a comforting way.

She was so glad to have her friend’s support in this.  
Stepping away from the doorway to the infirmary she turned around to face her teammate with a grateful smile and nodded vigorously.

“Yeah, she is bound to be somewhere in Luna Nova.”

Akko’s expression grew thoughtful, as she tried really hard to think of a place the blonde could have wanted to visit so urgently that she ignored the bed rest order Finneran bestowed upon her when the news of Diana’s fast recovery reached her ears.

“Maybe she wandered to the library. She seems to be researching a whole lot lately…”

Under her serious gaze Lotte began to fidget nervously.

“Hey, I’m not gonna tear down the library just to search for Diana...probably…”

Akko grinned sheepishly at the bookworm, whose eyes widened comically at her…joke?

“No, that’s not…”

Lotte wrung her hands awkwardly, her eyes flitting back and forth between them and the brunette, until she seemed to come to a decision, fixing the energetic witch with an uncomfortable expression on her face.

“You know…Sucy has this crazy Idea about Diana and…it kind of involves Ursula-Sensei too…in a sense…”

A crazy Idea?  
Was that the reason Sucy behaved so strangely?  
Not because she was angry at Akko for liking Diana, but something she believed the blonde to have done maybe?

‘Ugh, why is this stuff so complicated?’

Akko groaned loudly, startling her friend.  
She just wanted everything to be normal again…well…as normal as things could get in this school.  
And that included that her friends and her girlfriend should get along.

“This crazy Idea has nothing to do with me and Diana being together…right?”

The silence that followed that question reminded the brunette of one fact:  
She had never told her friends about that development!

‘Oops’

As Lotte still failed to react Akko grew concerned.

“Uh…you see…Diana-”

“YOU’RE FINALLY TOGETHER?!”

‘…huh?’

The bookworm practically beamed at her friend and grasped her hands in excitement.

“I so knew this would happen. It’s just like in Night Fall volume 65 where Edgar went to a parallel universe and had to help his other self, who went to a boarding school, to win the heart of Belle there. She and AU Edgar bickered the whole time, until a tragedy befell her and she grew sick, which prompted AU Edgar to profess his undying love for her.   
It was my favorite entry of the series, because their love transcended through different universes and was threatened by a relic that original Edward had brought with him which slowly destroyed their reality.”

Akko cocked her head to the side and blinked owlishly at Lotte, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly as she tried to make sense of her rambling.

“Sooo…you’re basically saying that me clashing with Diana all the time was because we were secretly in love with each other.”

Calming down slightly the blonde smiled softly at the energetic witch.

“Well I wouldn’t say love, but with how much you were raging about Diana in general, I had a pretty good Idea that you might like her a lot.”

‘That I might like her a lot?’

What about Diana?  
Was Lotte thinking the same about her too?  
Well…she did kiss Akko, so the liking part must have been there, but…

‘She never told me…’

“You don’t think I’m in over my head?”

Why was she suddenly so insecure about this?  
Diana hadn’t said anything of the sort…

‘Because she evaded your question altogether.’

“I think if you make each other happy then it shouldn’t matter what social status you have, or how good at school you are.”

“That’s right!”, sounded a familiar voice behind them, causing Lotte to hurriedly pull her hands back, as they both whirled around, staring at Professor Croix, who leaned against the door to the headmistress office a few doors away from them “If Miss Cavendish doesn’t accept you for who you are and is trying to force her opinion on you or urging you to change for her, she clearly doesn’t love you!”

“Croix-Sensei!”, exclaimed Akko loudly.

A wave of relief washed over her at the sight of the tech witch. If someone could help her find Diana it was her. And it never hurt to have a teacher on her side. Smiling brightly she tugged Lotte along and practically skipped towards the Professor, who waved shortly at them, reciprocating her smile. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.” 

Croix did that a lot lately…apologizing, Akko surmised thoughtfully. Always saying sorry after one of her sudden mood swings or when she believed that she had upset her…  
But she couldn’t really fault the tech witch for that…not after what Chariot had done to her at least…  
Which was still so hard to stomach. Even now, with what Croix said about Diana, she was probably referring to…

“Did…did Chariot do that to you?”, the brunette asked carefully, earning her a dumbfounded look from Lotte, who, of course, didn’t know about Croix’s and Chariot’s past relationship status.

Another thing she should probably tell her teammates. They were definitely in need of a bonding session. Maybe another movie night?  
Her eyes met Croix’s hooded gaze and she drove those thoughts to the back of her mind.

“In a sense…”, drawled the Professor pensively, tapping her chin almost playfully and a shudder ran down Akko’s spine, “though you can’t really compare your relationship with mine, Akko.”

‘Oh!’

Lotte winced beside her at that comment, kneading her fingers, seemingly trying to decide whether to comfort her friend or not, but Akko already knew how to react to her teachers harsh words.  
After all, it wasn’t the first time she talked with the tech witch so casually.

“Huh? Why not?” 

Intrigue flashed through Croix’s eyes, as her smile widened almost predatorily.

“Because for me there was never a shred of doubt that Chariot loves me…”

She trailed off, mustering the brunette intensely, causing Akko to unconsciously straighten her back, as she held her gaze unwaveringly…until Croix sighed softly, breaking their eye contact and raised her hands in a defeated manner.

“But I digress. You haven’t seen my missing patient by the way, have you?”

“No!”, Lotte almost screamed, reminding both, Akko and their teacher, of her presence. 

But as soon as the bookworm realized what she had done she shrunk into herself again, gripping her left arm nervously.

“Uh…we are searching for her too.” 

Akko looked at her friend sympathetically.   
Of course poor Lotte was confused by their Professor’s behavior, she hadn’t been around her much beside in class and that meant she hadn’t been able to get to know the real Croix. 

“I see…”

“Sensei, maybe we can look for her together”, suggested the brunette in an attempt to turn the tech witch’s attention back to her.

“That’s a great Idea, Akko. I think we should try-”

A loud bang of a door slammed shut interrupted her sentence, as the lone figure of Sucy made her way from the school entrance towards them. Her monotone stare didn’t betray anything, but Akko still got the strange feeling that her friend was internally seething.

“So much for being delusional!”, hissed the mushroom loving witch as she passed them, seemingly causing Lotte to panic slightly, as she turned after their teammate.

“Ah…Sucy wait!”

Walking a few steps after her, she paused, peeking over her shoulder, her expression apologetic.

“I guess Diana is with Ursula-Sensei, so you probably should head there, Akko.”

‘…she is?’

“Huh? How do you suddenly know that?” 

“I…I explain it once I have talked to Sucy, I promise!” 

As soon as Lotte finished her sentence she ran after the almost non recognizable shadow of Sucy, leaving a totally puzzled Akko behind.

Just what was that about right now?  
Were her friends keeping secrets from her?

“Looks like you’re stuck with little old me again”, Croix’s voice ripped her from her inner thoughts and her eyes snapped back to her teacher, who pushed herself away from the door, a playful smile adorning her lips.

Akko laughed awkwardly.

“You make it sound as if that would bother me.”

“Doesn’t it?”

What?  
Did Croix really think she would be nuisance to the most terrible student that ever attended Luna Nova?  
Granted, you had to get used to her…her unusual sense of humor, but that didn’t mean she was terrible to be around to. To the contrary.  
A spark of determination surged through the brunette. She couldn’t let this stand!

“Of course not! You’re one of my favorite teachers after all!”

Surprise flitted over Croix’s face, as she blinked slowly at the brunette, but as soon as it came it disappeared, leaving an amused smile in its place.

“You flatter me. I’m not really the easiest person to get along with, or so I was told.”

‘Or so I was told?’

Akko didn’t even want to know who had said something so hurtful to her.

“No!”, she reaffirmed forcefully, standing her ground, “ I mean, at first it was a bit hard to understand your behavior, but now that I know…  
You…you were there for me, listening to my problems, helping Ursula-Sensei, helping Diana…  
You’re a wonderful person, Croix-Sensei, so please…don’t talk so bad about yourself.” 

She almost flinched away, as the tech witch leaned closer and raised her arm to pat her head, but as soon as she caught on, she relaxed again, practically beaming at the older witch.

“Thank you, Akko. That means more to me than you can possibly imagine.”

Cocking her head to the side, Croix’s gaze wandered to the younger witch’s belt.

“How is your Shiny Rod by the way? Still glowing ominously?”

“Huh? Eeh…no?  
But one of the gems looks…kinda sick…I guess.”

To be honest, she had totally forgotten about it. With Diana becoming her girlfriend and her sudden disappearance it simply slipped her mind.   
Untangling the rod from her belt she held it towards the Professor, much like the last time she had analyzed it in her lab. The red glowing had completely subsided, but in its place a black spot had formed on the top left gem, marring its glass like look.  
Croix bend curiously over the staff, but refrained from taking it from her.

“Hmm…”

All in all, the tech witch seemed pretty entranced, as she drew her Smartphone and began to type away.

“Sensei?”, Akko asked tentatively, pulling the staff back slowly, choosing to ignore the quick flash of anger that flitted over Croix’s face, as she straightened herself, “Yesterday you said that I was the new owner of the Shiny Rod, but…how can that be?”

Not looking up from her screen the Professor shrugged absentmindedly.

“You mean because of Chariot?  
It’s actually quite easy. You can simply give the rod up.”

…she could?  
That was news to her?  
Why hadn’t Professor Ursula told her about that?

“What? So Chariot gave the Shiny Rod up? Just like that?”

Tearing her gaze away, Croix’s cold and calculating eyes met hers.

“You could say that…yes, but it’s not so mundane, as to halfheartedly say you quit…  
You have to **mean** it!”

An uncomfortable prickling spread through the brunette’s hand which still held the Shiny Rod tightly in its grasp, making its way to her upper arm.

That didn’t make any sense.  
If Chariot gave it up she could have stayed with Croix, right?  
She wouldn’t have broken her heart…so why…?  
Akko could feel her arm becoming numb.

“But if Chariot gave up, why is she still searching for the words?”

Croix laughed a short, hollow laugh, which sounded more like a bad cough, as she narrowed her eyes slightly, her gaze losing its focus. It kind of looked like she was very far away right now…

“Dedication probably. In that regard she is pretty similar to Miss Cavendish if you ask me. They both are incredibly talented at magic, have no real friends and stubbornly follow their goals to the very end even if they have to disregard their own health. I think the biggest difference between them is that your girlfriend is still stuck on her outdated traditions and Chariot was more like a free spirit…but I guess that was to be expected.”

A small, gentle smile tugged at the corner of her lips, as her eyes cleared again.

“No one would be able to be exactly like Chariot after all.”

“I…never really saw it like that…”, Akko mumbled almost inaudible, the numbness in her arm slowly dissipating.

Diana being similar to Chariot?  
Having no real friends?  
Croix would know that about Chariot for sure, but Diana…?  
Wasn’t she the school prodigy?  
Loved and celebrated by teachers and students alike?  
But…what did she even know about the blonde?  
Nothing the others didn’t also.   
What about her family?  
Her hobbies?  
Her dreams?

‘I need to change that!’

You could say about Croix what you wanted, but whenever Akko needed advice from her she didn’t sugarcoat it…not like Professor Ursula.  
Not that she wasn’t grateful for the blue haired teacher’s kind words from time to time, but the younger witch tended to be disenchanted whenever the harsh reality caught up with her.

A gentle hand on her shoulder startled her out of her thoughts.

“Akko”, Croix smiled charmingly at her, gesturing towards the school entrance, “shall we get going?”

###### 

**French to English**

Tu m’aimes? – Do you love me?

T’es l’amour de ma vie – You’re the love of my life


End file.
